


Mad Scientist

by Aria6



Series: A Coyote's Stories [40]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Children, Funny, M/M, Yes Mayuri - Science can be fun for everyone, insanity - in a funny way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-03-13 01:45:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3363191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aria6/pseuds/Aria6





	1. Chapter 1

"Why did he insist on sending you with me?"

"I really couldn't say." Starrk said which was, for him, a weasel answer. He knew exactly why Kyoraku Shunsui had sent him with Nanao on her mission to the Living World. She humphed softly as they continued their search.

"You mean you won't say. He's so stupidly protective of me. Won't he ever believe in me?" She said and Starrk sighed to himself. He could have answered, but he held back.

_He has known you since you were a small child. You remind him of Lisa, who went out one day and never came back. He never wants to suffer that loss again and struggles to avoid it._ Starrk knew the truth of those things and knew that Nanao likely knew all that as well. She probably knew she should request a transfer, something to remove herself from Shunsui's too-watchful eyes. But she was, in her own way, deeply attached to her captain. She would not extricate herself from his clutches and he would not shoo her out of the nest. It was not a good thing and was stifling her growth, but it was not Starrk's place to point it out.

Instead of delving deeply into matters of a personal nature, Starrk devoted his attention to the surroundings. They were searching for anything amiss. A garganta had opened and closed not long ago, very abruptly. There was –

"What is that?" Nanao stooped to pick something up and Starrk looked at her, surprised. She was holding a book?

"May I see?" He asked politely and she passed it over. It was an odd book. The covers had been fashioned out of a rather familiar material and then studded with bones. "Hollow hide. This came from Hueco Mundo." Although why would a hollow bother? And… He flipped through the pages. "Regular paper. That was acquired from Soul Society or the Living World. But if someone went to the trouble of getting that, why would they bind the book themselves?" That was strange. If he did such a thing, he would simply steal an entire book. "I cannot read this." It was in a language he did not speak. He passed the book to Nanao, who examined it thoughtfully.

"I don't know the language." She sounded troubled. "It may be a code. And this book was put here recently." She said after a moment and Starrk waited for her to expound on her reasoning. "There's dew everywhere but the book is hardly damp. It hasn't been here long."

"Ah." That was the sort of thing he would miss. He knew nothing of dew. "…Perhaps it is bound in the hide of an enemy." He said after a moment and saw Nanao grimace. "Or a loved one." She stared at him and he shrugged slightly. "A reminder. It would be a hollow thing to do." Like a cairn, but even better in a way. The maker could take it out and remember any time they wished. Nanao frowned, looking at the book again.

"Either way, this would be important." She slid it into a pocket. "Let's keep looking." She seemed more determined now and Starrk nodded.

But they found nothing. No trace of power, no hint of a trail. The book itself had a strong scent but there was no scent trail around it, which was curious. And that led Starrk to a disagreeable conclusion.

"Someone has hidden himself well. We will find nothing." He said firmly as Nanao looked a touch upset.

"It must be a powerful arrancar. But what business would he have in the Living World?" They were in the middle of nowhere, far from anything. "We should report to Kyoraku taichou immediately." She said and Starrk nodded.

"Perhaps he will know the language of the book." He said. The letters were familiar but the arrangement of them was pure gibberish. She nodded, pulling out the book again and looking at it. Starrk glanced over her shoulder, noting that in addition to the alien speech, the penmanship was horrible. It would require a genius to decipher it. Leaving the woods, they went back to the senkaimon. They were less flexible but also faster and more comfortable than travelling down a garganta.

Soon they were back at the Eighth Division. Nanao gave Kyoraku taichou a serious, concise report as Starrk stood behind her, hands in his pockets. She passed over the book and Shunsui surprised them both.

"Latin." He said instantly, as he looked over the letters. Nanao and Starrk exchanged a glance, wide-eyed. "Written in a very archaic fashion. I should be able to puzzle this out although it will likely take weeks. Mayuri would probably be faster." He mused before shrugging. "But he is in Hueco Mundo."

"…Hn." Starrk hadn't known the scientist was there and suddenly wondered if it was connected. Had a fleeing hollow dropped this book? If he was faced by Kurotsuchi, he would probably run too. Then he shrugged to himself. The book might be interesting or it might be unimportant, but it would be up to Shunsui now. Slouching out of the room, he decided to go take a nap.

This wasn't his problem anymore.

* * *

"This is making my head hurt." Shunsui murmured as he looked through the book while drinking his sake. "The way this person jumps from subject to subject…" It seemed almost nonsensical. One moment the author was musing about something so scientific that Mayuri would have sat up and took notice, then he jumped to maundering about something completely unrelated, like the skyline of Hueco Mundo or the taste of a spider hollow's eggs. "Ugh." He rubbed his eyes, feeling tired. Right now he was at a part where the author was seriously debating the merits of various glues he or she could use to create a bedazzled coat.

Sighing to himself, he dropped the book into an inner pocket of his kimono. Then he took his cup of sake and decided to take a short walk around the Division. It was a beautiful night. He smiled, gazing up at the stars as he took a small sip of his drink.

Then he frowned as he felt the faintest touch of an alien power. It felt like – like one of Mayuri's inventions? There was something –

"Kyoraku taichou?" Nanao stepped into the doorway just his instincts screamed a warning. Acting without thought, he drew his swords and leapt in front of her. He saw the attack coming, a wave of blue energy and just couldn't avoid it and keep his Nanao-chan safe…

" _Argh!"_ The energy crackled over him in a painful wave. His swords fell out of suddenly lax hands as he collapsed. It felt like his body was suddenly so distant… he heard Nanao's choked off cry and realized the wave had rolled right over him and into her as well, although he'd taken most of the force. She went down in a limp heap behind him but he could still feel her reiatsu, hear her breathing. And his own breathing was quite strong, despite the distant feeling and the inability to control his body. What was this?

"…Oh. Um." A blocky, square face peered down at him with a vaguely worried expression. It was slightly blurry as his eyes refused to focus. "You… were supposed to dodge that." The voice was surprisingly high, a light tenor. Shunsui noticed the light, glittering off a very tiny pair of glasses. "I mean, it's ideal that you didn't but I never imagined this would be quite so easy." Shunsui grimaced, trying to move. Only his fingers twitched, ever so slightly.

"Who… are… you…?" He managed to rasp out as the stranger reached up to adjust his glasses. Shunsui blinked, his eyes clearing enough to see the other man clearly. He was clearly an arrancar. There was a clip of bone in his hair, shaped like a very large feather. The man himself was large and strong, built in a way very similar to himself. His skin was quite pale and his hair was light blonde, cropped into a spiky style. He had a very nice goatee, similar to Starrk's but thicker and better kept. The man brushed his question away.

"Immaterial! I'm here to… to…" The arrancar suddenly paused, a puzzled look crossing his face. He reached up to rub his beard thoughtfully for a moment. "…Don't you just hate it when you're doing something and completely forget what you were doing?" He asked and Shunsui noticed a sparkling as he moved. The stranger was wearing a grey, layered coat. The lapels and the edges of the layers were studded with rhinestones.

"Yes… I know…" He'd felt that way before. Although usually not when he had an opponent at his mercy. The arrancar suddenly perked up, smiling.

"Don't worry! I have this. Let me see… was working in the labs… sister is still upset about the cheese incident… mother warned if I ever come near her she'll rip my head off… strange painted man showed up…" That made him close his eyes for a moment. Of course Mayuri would be involved in this. "Had a good time with him… he vanished… um… built a ducolutronic tracking system keyed to my own reiatsu?" The stranger paused for a moment, puzzled. "Why did I do that?" He asked out loud. "OH! Of course! To find my diary! YES! And I did! You have it! Give it to me!" The face bent over him again and Shunsui managed to move his arm. Not enough.

"It's in my pocket." He said and the arrancar immediately started looking through his hakama. "No, my coat…" Attention went there and soon the stranger pulled out the handwritten, hollow book.

"Oh yes! Yes! I needed this! I… I… why did I need it?" He said and Shunsui realized he was dealing with someone who was not firing on all cylinders. "OH! Because the painted man stole it and my diagrams for the machine that must not be completed! Yes! I need the information in here to save Karakura town!" He finished with a slightly insane smile before lifting his arm in a victory sign.

"What would a hollow care about Karakura town?" Shunsui asked, testing his body. Yes, he was gradually regaining control. But it would be best not to reveal that until it was time to pounce. The arrancar shrugged.

"I really couldn't care less about a few thousand humans – " He started and Nanao murmured from her place on the ground.

"Thirty thousand." That was the correct population of Karakura town. The arrancar accepted the correction.

"Thirty thousand… wait." The arrancar abruptly stopped, looking at her and adjusting his glasses. "Wait. Really? That many?" He asked before glancing at him. Shunsui managed an abridged nod. "My word. The last time I was the tiniest little village! These humans breed like rabbits, don't they…?" He said before suddenly stopping with an arrested expression. "Oh… no. Thirty thousand?" There was a note of dread in his voice. "Are you sure?" The arrancar suddenly bent over him, peering over the rims of his glasses. Shunsui noticed his eyes were light blue and he was looking extremely worried.

"Yes, I'm sure." Although why that mattered… the arrancar resolved it as he straightened, frantically flipping through his book.

"No! No no no! All my calculations were based on a maximum population of five thousand, minimum two! I never took this into account! The effect is going to be massive! Oh sweet kami I must recalculate… and how quickly will it draw attention? I thought I had some time! I don't have any time!" Then the arrancar was suddenly gripping his kimono and trying to drag him to his feet. Shunsui let him do it, concealing the fact that the feeling was definitely coming back to his limbs. "You! You're strong and I have several protectors! You can help me take care of this! I – " There was a flash of blue and Shunsui barely managed to catch himself as the arrancar suddenly let go.

What happened next was very quick, but he could easily follow it. Coyote Starrk engaged the arrancar, who managed to draw his sword with a panicked expression. That didn't help him much as the Espada easily overwhelmed him and pinned him to a wall.

"Primera-san! I grovel most humbly for your mercy!" The strange arrancar said, his head held in place by a blue sword at his throat. Starrk frowned at him.

"Wait. Don't I know you?" He said and the arrancar tried to smile at him. "Maximiliano Pappano?"

"Yes, that is I! Please call me Max." He said and Starrk eyed him thoughtfully before glancing at Shunsui. He was leaning against a wall, his body still feeling a bit jelly-like.

"How could someone like you defeat someone like him?" He asked, which made Shunsui wince. The arrancar in Starrk's grasp blinked behind his glasses.

"…That's really very hurtful, you know." He said, sounding quite hurt indeed. "And he just… didn't dodge. I was rather surprised." Starrk glanced at Nanao and favored him with a raised eyebrow. Shunsui shrugged, a touch embarrassed. Then Starrk sighed before withdrawing his weapon, to the arrancar's relief. "And you know, I AM rather dangerous." He said, reassured by the removal of his imminent demise. "I'm not as sneaky as Szayel but I am completely random! You never know which way I'll jump."

"Yes I do." Starrk said shortly before grabbing the arrancar's shoulder and shoving him in front of him. "You'll jump all the way to the Second to be imprisoned before we figure out what to – "

"No!" Max suddenly interrupted, whirling around. His hands were holding something – not a sword, a scientific device? Shunsui picked his swords off the ground and Starrk readied his weapons, a frown on his face. "No! We must go to Karakura town! I'm the only one who knows how to shut it off! And I know that painted idiot is going to use it!"

"Painted… oh sweet kami. What happened?" Starrk lowered his weapons and the arrancar was more than happy to explain.

"It was an invention I made just a short time ago. I was just, well, thinking about time and how it would be so nice to have more!" He said and Shunsui winced. That did not sound promising. "So I, er, created a device meant to explore the very nature of time itself!" Max said with a maniacal smile as Starrk stared at him. "I made all the diagrams for a large scale version meant to be set up in Karakura town. The smaller trial though… well… let's just say it was the most unpleasant experience of my life." He said with a small shudder, reaching up to adjust his spectacles. "And I used to work for Szayel so that does mean something."

"What happened?" He asked before going to check Nanao. She was starting to move under her own power. The weapon the arrancar had used was impressive but clearly meant to be non-lethal.

"Well, what I saw was… amazing. But it was also inhabited." Max said, adjusting his glasses as Shunsui helped Nanao up. She blinked owlishly, wavering on her feet. "By the oddest little things… I don't think they meant to hurt me. I mean, it's tough to judge body language of things shaped like little pyramids with one eye and tentacles, but they seemed curious. So I let one of them touch me." He shuddered again. "It was like – like seeing dozens of moments of time, all at once, all through history. I can't tell you how shocking it was… it felt like my brain might explode. Fortunately, I jerked away and accidentally knocked out one of the power lines, shutting the whole thing down. And that was the end of my experiments in time."

"Until Mayuri found your secret laboratory and stole your research." Starrk completed and Max nodded morosely. "Let me guess. He showed interest and you babbled about everything."

"Well, I – I was lonely! It's been a while and he understood what I was talking about! You should understand." He said with a frown, pulling out his diary again. "I didn't know he'd steal everything when my back was turned! And I told him about the things, too. Oh dear I don't know what he's thinking…"

"Mayuri can be quite reckless." Shunsui commented, watching the arrancar. This story rang true to him and somehow, he had a feeling that Maximiliano might be an even worse liar than Starrk. He seemed to lack a brain to mouth filter.

"Yes!" Max suddenly latched onto that. "So we must go to Karakura town IMMEDIATELY! My calculations are wrong and since he lost my diary that idiot with the makeup won't realize that! Primera! Please make a garganta but make it a safe distance outside of the town! A considerable distance!" He amended and Starrk frowned before nodding and lifting a hand. A garganta split the air. "Now come, all of you!" Max immediately started down it and Starrk followed. Shunsui gently helped Nanao to sit, telling her to take care of the Division before following them.

This did sound quite urgent but he was not about to expose his dear Nanao-chan to more danger.

* * *

"I don't see anything. And why are you doing that?" Starrk asked, annoyed. Shunsui grimaced as he watched Max throw another rock. He had handfuls of them and had insisted they walk towards Karakura town rather than use sonido and shunpo.

"To test where the effect starts. If we wander into it without protection, we'll be caught up in the time freeze." He said and Shunsui frowned. If that was the case then why - ? "And I don't want to put on the protective gear a moment sooner than necessary. The power supply is limited and I did NOT design it for this kind of thing. It's just the junk I was using in the smaller test field. I do hope that painted man made something stronger." He said before pausing thoughtfully. "He probably did. I mean, it wouldn't take much. Just tweak the ossilator coils and – "

"Max!" Starrk said sternly and the other arrancar jumped. "Focus. Throw another rock."

"Oh. Yes. Yes!" The arrancar tossed another rock and they all stared as it suddenly stopped in midair. "Oh, there it is. Here we go!" He pulled opened his coat and rummaged through his pockets before drawing out some slim metal bands and chains. "Wear these. Here, let me show you, it's not really that simple." The odd things turned out to be a kind of metal harness. Shunsui frowned, disliking the chains in particular. It looked like a strange bondage setup. "Err… I think you need to either take that off or put your arms in. These have to go over your clothes."

"Oh. Not a problem." He said before sliding his arms into the kimono. The arrancar fixed the chains and cuffs over it. The chains also had wires wound through them, he noticed.

"Alright. They're fully charged, hopefully they'll last long enough…" Max hit something and there was a small tinkling sound. "Activated. Let's go!" He jumped into sonido and they all followed.

The time stop looked like nothing from the outside but it looked like _everything_ from the inside. Shunsui squinted, struggling with a deep sense of mental pain as he tried to deal with what he was seeing. The angles, in particular, were absolutely sickening. And the quality of the light…

"I feel like I'm in one of those horrible modernist paintings!" Starrk said through gritted teeth as they ran through the streets of Karakura town, nimbly avoiding people and strange triangular things that kept trying to catch them. As Max had said, they seemed more curious than anything. Fortunately they weren't very fast.

"I feel like I'm inside my own bankai!" The effect was very similar. Starrk groaned.

"Oh sweet kami, is that why you wouldn't show it to me? I might have killed myself." He said and Shunsui chuckled. It was a short, not very amused sound.

"That has happened…" The first time he'd used his bankai he hadn't been aware of its shortcomings. He'd lost a few friends that day. He no longer blamed himself, though. There was no way he could have known.

"I love it! It's amazing!" And that was the voice of insanity. Max looked around with wide eyes, reminding Shunsui of a child in a candy shop. "The geometry is – "

"MAX! Focus!" Starrk's voice brought the other arrancar back to reality and he blinked. "Where are we going?"

"The centre of the disturbance! I know precisely where I planned to place the grid and I'm sure he put it in the same place…" That was easy at least. The arrancar pulled out his diary, flipping through the pages as they ran. "Yes, I remembered correctly! We're going in the right direction!"

The spot they were looking for turned out to be in a schoolyard playground. There was a very strange assortment of equipment set up, including a needle like projection, perhaps twice the height of a man. Unfortunately, there was something else there as well.

"They're all over the emergency shut offs!" Maximiliano said, distraught as Starrk grimaced. There were little blue triangles crawling everywhere, exploring the equipment with curious tentacles. Shunsui rubbed his chin, trying to think of a way around the problem. Tentatively, he tried to fly and wasn't surprised to find that he couldn't. Nothing worked quite the same in this patch of disturbed time. "What will we do?"

"Will a cero work?" Starrk asked and Max shook his head.

"No. Any power you release will immediately be frozen in time." He said and Starrk grimaced as Shunsui sighed.

"So kido won't work either." He said before frowning as he thought of something. "Where is Mayuri?" He couldn't see the scientist anywhere. Max paid no attention, gazing at the tower.

"If I could knock that over… yes, yes, that would work." He muttered and they both looked at him curiously as the arrancar reached for his belt. "I so hate using this but there is no choice." He drew his sword. "Stand back a bit, please?" Max asked politely and Starrk took a few steps back, frowning. Shunsui followed his lead. "Leap, Ave no Voladora!" He said and assumed his resurrection in a burst of golden fire. Shunsui blinked, surprised by the power of it. The arrancar was much stronger than he had appeared, very strong fukutaichou level or possibly even low level taichou. Although, the resurrection itself…

"You look like Big Bird." He said after a moment. "With a human head…" It was not a flattering look. The arrancar groaned before fluffing his feathers. They were bones and made an odd clinking sound. "Is your base form ostrich?" It definitely looked like it.

"Emu, to be precise. Now, if you'll excuse me? Ratatatata!" The arrancar cheered himself on as he backed up and then suddenly took off in a sprint. Starrk and Shunsui could only watch as he made a titanic leap and hit the needle like part of the device with both feet. It wasn't up to handling that kind of hit and immediately broke off, falling towards the ground. Along with the arrancar, who curled into a ball into an attempt to cushion his fall. Not that it would do him much good, given that he was falling into a crowd of triangle things.

Fortunately for the arrancar's sanity, the time distortion winked out before he could land in that pile. As everything around them went back to normalicy, the little creatures vanished, no longer perceivable to the shinigami and arrancar. And as they did, Shunsui saw something.

"Mayuri!" He'd been completely hidden under the things. He ran over to the man, bending over him. "…" He grimaced as he looked at Kurotsuchi's condition. He was drooling quite a bit and his eyes were wide and staring.

"He looks more insane than usual." Starrk commented and they both glanced over as they felt Max seal his power. "Are you alright?" He asked and the other arrancar nodded, shaking out his coat before adjusting his spectacles.

"Just fine. I honestly thought I wouldn't be… I thought I would probably land in that mess before the effect could dissipate. I'm so glad I didn't. That would not be a good look for me." He gestured towards Mayuri before glancing around. "Where did he – ah!" He quickly seized a roll of paper before setting incinerating it with a small burst of power. "This is FAR too dangerous. I should have destroyed it immediately but I'm such a terrible packrat. Well, goodbye – eh?" Max stopped as Shunsui put a hand on his shoulder. He smiled at the arrancar winningly, which only seemed to alarm him. But he had an idea…

"I think you should come with us to Soul Society." He said, which made the arrancar gaze at him with a bit of horror. "Really, you would do quite well there!"

"I, er, don't really think so…" Max was trying to edge away but Shunsui kept a hand firmly on his shoulder. Starrk was watching them both with a puzzled air.

"What do we want him for? He's hardly any kind of danger. He's more of a random nuisance." The former Espada said and Shunsui flashed him a quick smile.

"Ah, but from the look of things Kurotsuchi won't recover for some time." If ever. Shunsui honestly wasn't sure about that. "Wouldn't he make an excellent replacement?" Really, Maximiliano seemed like the type. The man in his grasp blinked behind his glasses.

"I… a taichou? Oh, but I couldn't. Really. I… I can't." He said weakly and Shunsui gazed at him questioningly. "I – I have a terrible disability."

"He faints at the sight of blood." Starrk supplied, his tone amused as Max hunched his shoulders. "And death in general makes him queasy. I have no idea how he managed to work for Szayel."

"Szayel thought it was funny. He would summon me when he was doing an autopsy just to watch me fall over… oh kami! I'm so ashamed!" The arrancar hid his face behind a hand as Shunsui let go of his shoulder, watching in bemusement. "It started when I became an arrancar. I don't know why. It's absurd! I'm a hollow! And now I – I can't – I'm so ashamed!"

"Is this the reason you weren't an Espada?" He asked before glancing at Starrk. He shrugged before nodding.

"In terms of raw power, he could have beaten the Novena and possibly the Octava. However, this problem…" Starrk shrugged again and Shunsui nodded thoughtfully. He could see why Aizen would never want someone who fainted at the sight of blood in the ranks of the Espada. Max looked at the ground, completely miserable and deeply ashamed of his shortcomings.

"Well, I don't think that's such a terrible problem for the taichou of the Twelfth." Shunsui said easily. Really, how many times did Mayuri engage an opponent anyway? A few, but it wasn't part of his regular duties. They could just make sure Max was kept out of any combat situations. And besides… "I'm sure the shinigami there will be glad to be working for someone who doesn't randomly dissect them." Kurotsuchi had done that on occasion. Max looked up, his expression suddenly queasy. "And you'll have absolutely wonderful laboratories. Fully stocked, with everything you could possibly need."

"…Really?" Maximiliano blinked at the thought before reaching up to rub his beard. "He mentioned that my lab was very small, I remember. And it is, I just scavenged things from Szayel's wing and the Living World… do you think I could?" He directed that question to Starrk, who considered it seriously for a moment.

"If Nemu acts as your living reminder system, quite likely. Where is she, by the way?" He asked. There was no sign of her. Max supplied the answer.

"The girl? She was with him at first but he ordered her to continue work on his other projects while he talked to me. She's probably still in Hueco Mundo." He said and Shunsui nodded. That made sense. He bent over to pick Kurotsuchi up, grimacing a little at the drool. "Ah… what if he wakes up?" Max said worriedly and Starrk shrugged.

"You can work for him. It would hardly be any different from Szayel and you got on with him reasonably well." Starrk said before frowning. "Although I'm really not sure how you did. I always figured he would kill you someday."

"He respected my capabilities." Max said firmly. Then he smiled, with just a touch of insanity. "Ah… why not? A fully stocked laboratory, how could I say no? How many experiments I can run! New inventions to test! It's going to be great!" He was suddenly very enthusiastic. Shunsui smiled to himself as Starrk opened a new garganta.

He wasn't sure how this was going to work out, but he liked Max better than Mayuri already. That was something.


	2. Chapter 2

In some ways, Coyote Starrk did not understand Maximiliano Pappano at all.

His obsessive nature, his inclination towards hard science, the way his mind jumped around like a lizard on a hot rock… Starrk did not understand any of those things. Yet one thing about Max he understood perfectly well, and that was his status as an Alpha.

Starrk was a Beta and to him, Max's scent was spicy and mildly alluring. Only mildly, because of the extreme power difference, but it still advertised that he was a strong and virile hollow ready to sire offspring. That was very different from Szayel… the old Octava had been a Beta but his scent had been wrong, sick. No one would ever have contemplated courting him.

Starrk sighed to himself as he thought about it. Alphas were usually only attracted to more powerful Betas. For poor Max, that had made his prospects in Los Noches absolutely dismal. As an Espada strength arrancar, he was above even the Privaron Espada in terms of raw power. Yet, his disability had barred him from any real rank and without it he simply would not dare approach an actual Espada. It was hard to see who he would have gone after anyway. The only Betas in the Espada ranks were Szayel, Ulquiorra and himself. Starrk briefly tried to imagine Max courting Ulquiorra and mentally gave up. It was beyond him.

Putting his hands behind his head – he was lounging in a hammock in the back of the Eighth – the former Espada considered the matter further. Max was going to make a horrible blunder, and soon. Rank had just been dropped in his lap, and exalted rank at that. That meant that despite his disability, a Beta might look kindly on him for mating. He would want to act on that swiftly, before another powerful Alpha could engage the only available Betas. Starrk wondered how much Max really knew about shinigami. He was willing to bet it was a little, but not enough. He likely knew that female shinigami bore children but males did not and in his mind, he had probably decided that meant female shinigami were the same as hollow Betas. He couldn't possibly understand the differences and Max was not the brightest when it came to interpersonal relationships. Yes, some kind of massive incident was coming. The question was, did he care?

Stirring a bit, Starrk sat up with a sigh. Yes, he did care. Max wasn't like Szayel and didn't deserve to be beaten within an inch of his life, which was where he was sure things were going. In fact, he even had an idea how it would happen and who would be responsible. Leaving the Division, he decided to go hunt down the taichou of the Second.

"Why are you following me around?" To say Soi Fon was irritated to have an arrancar shadow was an understatement. Starrk just shrugged. "Don't you have work to do?"

"Mmm hmm." He was neglecting his own duties but he did that all the time. Shunsui could survive. He stuck his hands in his pockets, slouching along as Soi Fon's fukutaichou gave him a resentful glare. Starrk sometimes wondered if the man had a crush on his taichou. If so, he was doomed to eternal disappointment. To Starrk, the tiny woman had all the warmth of an icicle.

Starrk wondered how long it would take Max to show up. Most likely, he was beginning his courtship efforts with Unohana Retsu. However, he thought she would handle it just fine… she would refuse the new taichou of the Twelfth without violence and maybe give him that creepy smile if he persisted. To Max, that would scream 'get away or I will rip your throat out.' It was Soi Fon who would give him the wrong message…

Sure enough, the arrancar arrived and he made a real entrance. He was clearly trying to impress Soi Fon on her own ground and managed to surprise her, materializing almost out nowhere. Starrk spotted it coming, of course, and gripped her shoulder before she could do something unfortunate.

"Ta da!" Max smiled at her before turning the smile on him. "Oh, Starrk-san! I never imagined I would see you here!" Starrk noted that he'd gone from sama to san. It was appropriate, though, given that he was actually lower in rank than the other arrancar. Theoretically, Max could demand honorifics from him although Starrk was sure the other man was smart enough not to do it.

"What the hell do you want?" Soi Fon asked and Starrk waited to see what he would say, honestly curious to see how far Maximiliano could wedge his boot down his throat.

"I would like to mate you, beautiful one!" Hip deep, apparently. Starrk sighed, lifting his gaze to the heavens as he felt Soi Fon stutter. Glancing down, he saw her face was turning a very peculiar shade of pink. And her fukutaichou was speechless as well. "Would you consent to be my Beta and bear my children? I assure you I am quite a catch!"

"Max…" Starrk started but then had to restrain Soi Fon from attacking him. "NO!" He sent out a careful reiatsu blast, knocking the fukutaichou away before he would have drawn his weapon. "He'll… well, not kill you, but disable you." Normally an Alpha would cheerfully kill an interloping Alpha, but not Max. "And if you attack him you'll just encourage him." He said to Soi Fon, who was going straight into outrage.

"How DARE you! Arrancar filth!" She began to rant and Max just smiled, reaching for his devices. Starrk knew exactly what he meant to do.

"Max, put it away!" He snapped before flaring his reiatsu and making the other arrancar wince. He drew his hands away from his coat pockets, for which Starrk was thankful. "Stop it. She is not a Beta. And please stop. This is all a cultural misunderstanding." He said to the woman in his grasp. Soi Fon stopped raving for a moment, glaring up at him.

"What? But she can have children. I mean, she's obviously not an Alpha…" Max said with some confusion as the fukutaichou gathered himself. Starrk gave him a hard look before turning his attention on the arrancar, keeping his hand firmly on Soi Fon's shoulder.

"Max, she's a shinigami, not a hollow. Surely you're aware that we are not the same?" Starrk said with some sarcasm. Max blinked at him, adjusting his glasses.

"Well, actually, biologically speaking we're extremely similar. And cross-breeding is absolutely feasible. That reminds me, I might want to see if those specimens survived the destruction of Szayel's wing. They were really quite fascinating…" Starrk mentally labelled that as 'creepy'. From the looks on their faces, Omaeda and Soi Fon felt much the same.

"Whatever. The point I'm getting at is she does NOT find your scent alluring. She does NOT find your rank attractive and when she attacks you it does NOT mean she's begging you to overcome her to prove your worth and virility." That was the problem with Soi Fon's reaction to this. To Max, a frontal assault was actually a statement of interest. He heard the taichou of the Second choke a bit at that. "Shinigami have a completely different method of courtship." He said firmly as Max looked interested.

"Really? What is it?" He asked and Starrk paused. He really knew next to nothing about it. Most of the shinigami he was surrounded by were too weak to survive him or too heterosexual to be interested. Although he had observed some of Kyoraku's conquests.

"I believe sake is involved. And a great deal of flattery. Sometimes gifts of jewelry and scarves." He said and heard a grumble from Soi Fon. "Well, what would you consider a courtship gift?" Perhaps he was getting this wrong although Shunsui's tactics seemed to work quite well on his chosen partners.

"I would prefer a good knife." She said shortly and Starrk frowned. He was sure she had quite a few of those. But Max suddenly became enthusiastic.

"I could make you one! Something that could do all kinds of horrible things to an opponent!" He said cheerfully and Starrk was sure he could. Max's disability only applied to himself. He had made some hideously efficient weapons for other people, in his day. "Perhaps something electrical based? I'm always partial to electricity…" Sensing the threat in the air going down, Starrk released Soi Fon's shoulder. He doubted she would ever seriously consider Maximiliano as a contender for her affections, but at least she wasn't about to kill him. "Oh! That reminds me. I was actually going to go find you but since you're here… Starrk-san?"

"Eh? What – ARGH!" The attack was completely unexpected. Electricity danced over his body and Starrk felt like the top of his head might fly off. He went down in a tumble of limbs and heard exclamations from both Soi Fon and Omaeda. He could only grimace, though, as a face was shoved into his own.

"Are you impressed?" Max said brightly and Starrk couldn't control his vocal cords enough to talk. He could growl though, so he did. It was what he wanted to do anyway. "What a wonderfully feral sound!"

"Now I'm just confused. I thought you said you were an Alpha?" Soi Fon said and Starrk suddenly realized they would have no idea of his Beta status. Max, though, was more than happy to explain, straightening for a moment.

"Oh yes I most definitely am! And Starrk is a Beta, the most powerful of Betas to ever exist!" Max bent over him again, that slightly insane smile on his face. "I was saving him for last if my other possibilities were not amenable… mating him at the moment would most certainly kill me. However, that is a job for SCIENCE!" A finger suddenly poked in his face and Starrk looked at it, cross-eyed, his growl stuttering. Was Max actually suggesting…? "Would that convince you to mate with me?"

"Uh…" Starrk wasn't sure he could speak yet anyway, so he took a moment to seriously consider it. Max's scent was very interesting but his personality was… weird. On the other hand, he was not in any way violent or sadistic. Weird might be acceptable and it was true that Max could be dangerous in unexpected ways. Not a bad quality for an Alpha. Testing his limbs, he found that whatever the other arrancar had used on him was starting to wear off. He pushed himself off as Max prudently backed off. "Max, if you can figure out a way to have sex with me without dying, I will be extremely impressed." And an impressed Beta was a receptive one.

"Excellent! Wonderful!" Max sounded very pleased, smiling and reaching up to adjust his glasses. "Well, I'm sure you've been hideously neglecting your duties – " Starrk blinked at that surprisingly accurate commentary. "So why don't you stop by my place in a few days? I'll need to take some power readings, various tests. Please?"

"Of course. Three days?" He could clear that with Shunsui. Starrk was sure it wouldn't be a problem. Max nodded and vanished again, this time with a peculiar buzzing sound. Starrk could see him go and this time, Soi Fon caught it too. Her fukutaichou was still clueless.

"I thought he wanted to court me. I'm not interested but I'm still offended." She muttered, glaring after the vanished taichou of the Twelfth. Starrk sighed as he pushed himself to his feet, shrugging a bit.

"He has the attention span of a goldfish. Hopefully when I show up, he'll remember what I'm there for." Starrk didn't have high hopes, though. It would be so like Max to completely forget. "Oh well." He could just remind him. "I really should get back to my duties." He'd headed off disaster. His work here was done. Slouching off, he made his way back to the Eighth.

Hopefully Nanao wouldn't try to hit him with a book. Kami knew she'd done it before.

* * *

"You want me to what?" Starrk looked at the magazines that had just been placed in front of him with a blank look.

"I need you to masturbate." Max said calmly, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "Really, I'm sure you can see why this is necessary. I need to measure the forces you can release during coitus."

"…Mmmhm." Starrk couldn't really think of an objection to that. Sorting through the magazines, he paused when he found a graphical book. "…?" Flipping through it, he found it quite interesting. The graphic depictions of bondage and a young man being ravished by another young man… yes, that would definitely do. It even had a plot, after a fashion. Starrk allowed Max to set up his monitoring equipment, including some things directly attached to his skin, as he idly perused the novel. "When you're done, can I have some privacy?" There was some plot so he didn't really mind the delay but he was not going to do the deed right in front of the other arrancar.

"Certainly. Just a few more…" Max finished his setup with an expression of intense concentration. Starrk eyed him thoughtfully. That was more attractive than his over-excitable demeanor. "There we are! I'll leave you to it." He said cheerfully before exiting the room and Starrk turned his attention back to the graphical book. He liked to imagine himself as the one being ravished. His Beta instincts, no doubt.

It was a lovely dream and Starrk stroked himself, hissing softly as he felt the growing pressure, the need in his loins. How long had he done nothing but this? More centuries than he could imagine. Finally he found his release, vaguely aware of his power spilling out with it, a tsunami of reiatsu. Fortunately, the wards on the room contained it quite well and the equipment was not affected. But then, Max knew what to expect.

His duty completed, Starrk closed the graphical novel and did his pants back up before cleaning up the mess a bit. When that was done he began removing the monitoring equipment. Max hadn't come back, so likely he trusted the Primera to free himself without damaging things.

That finished, Starrk left the room and found that Max was just outside, looking through the readings and rubbing his chin thoughtfully. The other arrancar lifted his head from the computer he was staring at with a smile.

"Ah, Starrk, you put out a tremendous amount of energy! At the moment, you would reduce me to a cinder." He didn't sound at all bothered by the prospect, though. To the contrary, he seemed excited. "I have several ideas for how to deal with it but some are more dangerous than others." He mused and Starrk was honestly curious.

"Can you give me a broad outline of the ideas you have?" He wouldn't understand the technical details. Max cleaned his spectacles before responding.

"Well, the obvious method is to limit your reiatsu in some way. The brute force approach would be a limiting collar." He said and Starrk nodded. He'd considered that before. "However, the chance of conception with that method would be approximately ten percent. My reiatsu would be overwhelmed by yours."

"Hn." Yes, he could see that. And Maximiliano wanted a cub. So did Starrk, more than… well, anything. He'd just resigned himself to never having one. "Other options?" He asked and Max frowned for a moment.

"Well… one option would require your consent. That would be lowering your power in a permanent manner." Starrk blinked, remembering what Aizen had done to him with the hogyoku so other arrancar could live around him. He'd only done the bare minimum necessary, though. He'd wanted his warrior to be as strong as possible while not killing his other warriors. "That would raise the odds of conception dramatically but… well… I'm just not that keen on it. That man with the two swords defeated you but didn't kill you solely due to your reiatsu. A permanent lowering would make you far more fragile and likely to expire in such circumstances."

"…Ah." Yes, he could see that. Reaching up, Starrk rubbed the mark left from Shunsui's swords. Still… "If that is the only option I will consent." To be permanently weakened… if it meant he could finally have a mate and cubs, he would take it. Max nodded but a bit of distress flashed over his face. Of course, it would go against his instincts to expose his Beta to danger. And while Starrk was not his Beta yet, it was what the Alpha desired.

"Well, the final option is to find some way to strengthen myself." Max said and Starrk frowned. "I can never equal you, of course. The very idea is ludicrous! But there was this one Numero I noticed in Los Noches. I studied her extensively… she had next to no power but the strangest ability to tolerate immense energy flows. I'm hopeful that I can make myself tolerant of excess energy in general, or perhaps just _your_ reiatsu in particular." Max grimaced a little, rubbing his goatee for a moment. "I'm honestly not certain how this would impact conception rates or even how feasible it is."

"Well, be careful." Starrk did not want Max to accidentally fry his own brain. Although that was one thing he'd always been good with… running small scale, carefully orchestrated tests before rolling out the larger ones had always been his pattern. "Do you need me for anything?" If not he really should get back to his duties. Max shook his head.

"I have plenty for now. I'll let you know if I need more!" He said cheerfully and Starrk made his escape, slouching back to the Eighth. He was going to take a good long nap…

Unfortunately, something very annoying interrupted his serious sleeping time.

"Starrk-san, can we talk?" Starrk opened one eye to see a bearded face looking down at him with a very serious air.

"If you insist, taichou-san." He said before sitting up and scratching his beard. "If it's about my paperwork I swear, I'll get it done." This place always seemed to generate paperwork. Shunsui shook his head with a small smile before taking a seat on a cushion nearby.

"It's not about the paperwork. I'm concerned about you." He said and Starrk blinked at him. "I've heard rumors that you're letting our new taichou of the Twelfth court you?"

"…Yes." He said, wondering why on earth Shunsui would care about that. Max was not a violent sort and would be very careful with his experiments. Shunsui rubbed his beard, looking a bit uncomfortable, as if he was carrying through an unpleasant duty.

"Starrk, I understand that he's almost the only other arrancar in our forces. But you don't need to settle for him." Shunsui said after a moment and Starrk blinked. "I know we're different, with different customs, but there are many young shinigami who would find you attractive."

"…Really." Starrk was beginning to get angry although he hid it well. But Kyoraku did not have a _clue._ "Do you find me attractive, taichou-san?" He asked and Shunsui stared at him before laughing, clearly not taking him seriously.

"Ah, you're a fine figure of a man, but I find women are more to my taste." He said cheerfully and Starrk's eyes narrowed before he continued.

"What about Unohana Retsu? Would she find me attractive?" From the smile on his face, he found the thought unlikely. "Ukitake taichou?" That made the smile widen. "Zaraki taichou?" That almost made him lose his gravity and then Starrk dealt the final blow. "Soutaichou Yamamoto?" Shunsui finally lost it and laughed, hard and long. That sound eased the anger in Starrk's heart, turning it to amusement. He had no clue but it was rather funny.

"Ah, Starrk! You have more possibilities than that, you know." He said after he regained his breath. Starrk smiled sadly before shaking his head.

"No, I don't." He corrected before explaining. "If I were to have sex with, oh, Nanao, she would die." He said plainly as Shunsui stared at him. "You see, taichou-san, that is the difference between us. Arrancar and shinigami may be similar but my reiatsu will always be a grasping, destructive thing." Starrk breathed a small sigh before shrugging. "The names I gave you are the ones who can survive my climax. Perhaps someday, Hitsugaya will also be among that select group. Although I doubt that would help me much." He said wryly. He very much doubted the little taichou would find him attractive.

"…Are you serious?" Shunsui asked and Starrk nodded. "Sex with you can kill?" He nodded again, feeling a bit wearied by this. He'd really like to go back to his nap. "But that means Max can't survive you either." He was around Soi Fon's level, in terms of raw reiatsu. Definitely below all the ones he had mentioned.

"As he said, that is a job for science." Starrk said wryly, settling back on his cushion. "Depending on what method he uses, I might just give him a single pup before going to find another mate." Although, who knew? Max might grow on him. He'd never disliked the other arrancar, he just hadn't had much in common with him. With a child between them, that might change. Shunsui regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before nodding.

"I can see you've thought about this." Which was true, he had. "Well, I'll trust in your judgement then. Fortunately, he's not Mayuri." Starrk shuddered a little at the thought.

"No, he's not." He would never have allowed that one near him. "Can I…?" He cast a longing look at his cushion. He really wanted to get back to his nap. Shunsui laughed before standing.

"I'll leave you to that then!" He said cheerfully before exiting the room. "Oh Nanao-chan~" Starrk smiled to himself as he heard the start of some flirting. Settling down on his cushions, he allowed the sound of voices to soothe him to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

"PRIMERA!" Starrk wasn't expecting to be randomly tackled by an extremely enthusiastic taichou. However, his life was moving in unexpected ways. "You must come to my laboratory! You must, you must!"

"Max, I'm in the middle of something." And it really couldn't wait. Although… "How did you find me?" He was on a mission in the outer wilderness with the rest of the Eighth, cleaning out a huge nest of very dangerous hollows. How had Max hunted him down out here?

"I put a tracer in that water you – uh… I mean, I'm just amazingly lucky!" He said hurriedly and Starrk slapped a hand over his face, feeling utterly exasperated. "I just want to keep my Beta safe." Max said, suddenly taking on a very submissive tone. But then, any Alpha could tell when their Beta was about to bite them.

"Well, you're here so you can come help." Why not? And it might do some good for the shinigami to see what Max was capable of. He WAS dangerous in very unexpected ways but right now, no one was taking him seriously. "…Does the sight of hollows vanishing make you faint?" Shinigami purification was a bit different from the way hollows slashed at each other. Max squinted, clearly picturing it in his mind.

"No, that doesn't seem to bother me." He said after a moment, to Starrk's relief. "Well, tally ho!"

The next hour or so was full of a lot of hollow hunting and Max proved himself highly useful in flushing out the ones trying to hide. There were quite a lot of those, actually. Starrk suspected that was largely his fault. The smarter hollows were catching some whiff of his reiatsu.

A lot of them were really stupid, though. A great hand reached for them and Starrk and Max dodged easily. Max hadn't drawn his sword – he could only use it defensively – but that little toy of his crackled and the hollow shrieked as it was assaulted by a torrent of electricity. Starrk used the distraction to land the fatal blow, tearing it apart with ease. When he landed on the ground Max was looking away, his face pale.

"Sorry." The shinigami killing things might not bother him, but Starrk's method was messier. "Let's keep going." Max nodded, still looking a touch greenish. Starrk gave him a fond smile before they went on. He really thought Max's disability was his most endearing trait.

Soon they were finishing up and Starrk went to report to Nanao, Max tagging along. She wasn't part of the battle, although her skills were not going to waste. She was coordinating her shinigami and lending help wherever they needed it.

"This is worse than it should be." She said with a small frown as Starrk made his report of the hollows he'd purged. "Your presence isn't calling them in, is it?" Starrk quirked an eyebrow at her as Max laughed.

"The Primera? Oh heavens no! The stupid ones don't know he's there and the bright ones are trying to hide or running for their lives." He said cheerfully. "Me too for that matter. Why, there should be less of them!" Starrk nodded. The presence of two arrancar would tell any modestly intelligent hollow to flee. Of course, most basic hollows were moronic. Nanao frowned but nodded.

"We must have just left it too long. It's so hard to handle these wilderness areas." She murmured and Starrk nodded. Soul Society was vast and, sadly, souls could spontaneously hollowify when passing over. That was the usual seed for hollows in Soul Society, but once that happened they tended to devour and convert more souls, spreading like an infection.

"A shinigami's work is never done." Starrk commented and Max laughed, although he was being deadly serious. "You know, you should see if there's some way we can give souls konso." He said to the scientist, who looked startled at the thought. "It would make us more useful." And hence, other arrancar. Right now they could eliminate hollows but they were either devouring them or sending their soul collections to Hell. Given his hungry reiatsu, Starrk was fairly sure the touch of his zanpakuto was drawing more souls into his collection. Not something he needed or wanted, although it was probably meaningless to the balance of the universe. "What was it you wanted me for again?" Something in his lab? Max looked confused.

"I… what did I want you for?" Starrk waited patiently as Max took out his diary. It served him in all kinds of ways – "OH! Yes! You really must come to my laboratory! I retrieved something from Szayel's old lab and what I do with it should partly be up to you." He snapped the book shut and put it away into his coat. He wore it open now, displaying his taichou's haori. "At least, that was what Unohana taichou said when I asked her for help."

"What?" Starrk asked blankly. Unohana Retsu? What would she have to do with something from Szayel's lab? Max looked mildly puzzled.

"Well, I was just asking about nutrient feeds and amniotic fluids but she told me about this thing called 'ethics' and gave me a book on it." He pulled out a rather thick book and regarded it dubiously. Starrk had a sinking feeling as he heard Nanao snort. "Perhaps you should come to my lab though to discuss it? It's more secure."

"Oh god." Starrk muttered. Max had no discretion, ordinarily. If he thought this should be private it was likely a humdinger. "Nanao-fukutaichou?" She smiled at them both, amused.

"You've done enough here for now, Starrk-san." She said and he took her permission to leave with a nod. He left with Max, keeping himself to a speed the other arrancar could manage.

"I can go faster but if I use that device I quickly exhaust myself." Max said and Starrk nodded. That made sense, really. "Just follow me!" Starrk glanced around curiously at the interior of the Twelfth. It had changed a bit. Max absolutely loved plants so now it was festooned with all kinds of potted trees and vines, complete with trellises to let them grow up the walls. Starrk tried to keep his distance from some of the more suspicious ones. Although…

"Lemon tree?" He was fairly sure. Max nodded cheerfully.

"A dwarf variety. I also have apricots, nectarines and figs! Oh, and mulberries. I'm working on a miniature apple as well. In my spare time, that is. It's hardly a priority!" Starrk blinked, wondering if the Twelfth would soon be supplying all the other Divisions with fruits. And if anyone would dare to eat it if they did.

"What about strawberries? Those grow inside well, when they have enough light." And light was not a problem, these days. Max had replaced most of the lights with ones that were engineered to precisely replicate natural lighting. The plants seemed to love them, if the luxurious growth was any judge. Max adjusted his glasses.

"Strawberries? I'm honestly not fond of them but I could bring them in for everyone else. And I know Gin liked persimmons. Oh, Nemu-fukutaichou!" She appeared in front of them both. To Starrk, she appeared quite sad. Perhaps she was mourning Mayuri? It seemed bizarre to him given what he'd heard of his treatment of her, but Nemu had seemed to be deeply attached to her 'creator'. "I'm just taking Starrk to see the, um, thing!"

"Hai taichou. When you are done can we discuss your plans for the reiatsu nullifying field?" She said and Starrk lifted an eyebrow. Reiatsu nullifying? That sounded vaguely interesting.

"Of course!" He pulled out a book – not his diary, something more disposable – and jotted a note. Starrk smiled a little at the sight. Max was good at writing things down. It was how he got through life with a poor memory and worse attention span. "Now, Starrk, right this way…" Max showed him into a room and Starrk looked around, unsettled. This was a serious room for serious experimentation. There was an autopsy bed… well, vivisection table. It was outfitted with straps and looked well used. There were also numerous tubes holding various specimens. Max paused in front of one and looked at him, beaming with an air of mild insanity.

"Here it is! What do you think?" Starrk looked at the thing inside dubiously. It looked like a fetus and it was quite small – "Would you like to adopt it?"

"I, wait, what?" Starrk stared at Max, wondering if he'd heard correctly. The arrancar smiled cheerfully.

"It's one of Szayel's experiments with combining shinigami and arrancar DNA!" He explained and Starrk swallowed. "A direct hybrid! Most of the others were destroyed but I found a single freezer unit that was still functioning! And it had a tray of these so I thought I should try to culture one and see if it was still viable!"

"…Who… who was the arrancar donor?" Starrk asked with dread as his mind connected the dots. Unohana had talked to Max about ethics in regards to this thing… Max cheerfully confirmed his fears.

"Oh, you were! Szayel harvested – erk." Max's eyes went wide as Starrk seized the front of his haori, dragging him closer. Panic and rage were starting to build in the back of his mind…

"Who is the shinigami donor?" He asked, his tone deceptively even. Alphas were normally weaker than their Betas but even taking that into consideration, he doubted Gin or Tosen had been the ones mated with his eggs. Max squirmed and Starrk growled, lips peeling off fangs. The other arrancar went limp in his grip before responding meekly.

"Aizen." Starrk's growl increased in volume as a film of red started going over his eyes. He was experiencing the primal desire to kill… "But it was Szayel! I didn't even know about these until I found them in the lab! Starrk, please, I don't want to use this." Starrk blinked as a bit of sanity intruded and he realized Max was holding something, another scientific item. Taking a deep breath, he carefully let go of the other's haori. Max looked relieved as he straightened his clothing a little, stepping back.

"Let me guess. It might have damaged the equipment?" He asked and Max looked a touch wounded. It was a good guess though, since he favored electrical attacks. That would not be lab friendly in the least. "If Szayel was here I would kill him. How dare he do this to me?" To say he was outraged would be an understatement. "I feel violated." He muttered, glaring at the tube. Then he frowned. "Did you tell Unohana about Aizen?" He had a feeling… Max confirmed it a moment later.

"No. Do you think I should have? He's imprisoned so I can't see why he would be at all involved." He said and Starrk sighed before he blinked.

"I wonder if he knew about this." Just stealing his DNA would be very daring of Szayel. After a moment of consideration, Starrk grimaced. "He probably did." It would be so like Aizen to be interested in such a thing. And warriors created from himself and the Primera… it was a little terrifying. "I have to talk to Shunsui about this." He trusted his taichou and he would know what to do. "I don't even know what I want right now." It was completely beyond him. "How many of them are there?" He'd said something about a tray, hadn't he?

"There's six zygotes still in storage. Whether or not they're viable is another question… I used up four before this one began developing." Starrk rubbed his forehead as Max continued. "From that success rate, I'd expect only two more to survive. But it could be none or it could be all six. It's hard to tell."

"Adorable…" Starrk looked at the little thing again, resting a hand against the tube. He could see human features but it was so tiny, so unfinished. It was moving though, stretching out and wiggling around in a way that said it was definitely alive. Adopt it? Did he want to adopt anything that hard partly come from Aizen? Just the thought made his head hurt. And what would the shinigami think? "I'll speak to Kyoraku taichou and let you know. Oh, what was that about a reiatsu suppression field?" He was still interested in that and unlike Max, he could remember things beyond a few minutes. Max blinked before smiling happily.

"Oh, that's sweet of you!" Sweet? Starrk blinked at him, taken aback. "It's just an idea I had. Would you like to see?"

"Certainly, when you get Nemu." She'd wanted to talk to him about it, after all. Max nodded and they got her before going to another room. This portion of the Twelfth was clearly dedicated to heavy machinery and Starrk marveled a bit at the equipment. There was also a good metal table full of engineering drawings. Max picked one roll up and unfurled it. "You see? This is a design for a 'stake' to be jammed in the ground. Along with a controlling unit they can generate a field that will completely nullify reiatsu generation within the grid!"

"Taichou, the budget we would have to allocate to create them…" Nemu said in a monotone and Starrk suddenly smiled. Ah, budgets. Szayel had been very good about staying within them but Max? He would treat budgets as an annoying impediment to his genius.

"Max, what would you use that for?" He asked and Max blinked at him.

"To nullify our opponents! Without the use of their reiatsu, we could crush any enemies!" He said happily and Starrk quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I assume that we would also not be able to use our reiatsu within this field?" He asked and Max frowned before nodding reluctantly. "And I assume passive effects would still be active?"

"Yes… Starrk, I'm not sure what you're getting at." Max said and he smiled before explaining.

"You're thinking like an arrancar. We're very strong and have natural regeneration. Shinigami depend on their reiatsu for so many things. But Max, who are you working for right now?" He asked and saw a very thoughtful look pass over his Alpha's face as he looked at the plans. "How would this benefit shinigami in any way?"

"…Oh dear. You're quite right." He said after a moment. Then he rubbed his goatee thoughtfully. "Perhaps I should just cobble together something with existing equipment, rather than making a dedicated system." Starrk could sense Nemu's relief although her expression didn't change. "Something that could be deployed in a hurry if a situation ever calls for it. Because if something comes up that requires this it would be quite urgent. But it's clearly no good for general use… yes, that's what I'll do!" He was suddenly enthusiastic again and Starrk smiled at the sight. Max could work very well with scavenged parts, he was sure the man would do fine.

"And how is your personal project coming? Surviving my reiatsu?" Starrk prompted him. Max had probably meant to bring it up but forgotten in all the tension over the fetus thing.

"Oh, that's going extremely well!" He said, suddenly happy. "Does my reiatsu feel any different to you?" He asked and Starrk blinked slowly before reaching out his senses. To his vague surprise, Max did feel different. Stronger?

"You've enhanced yourself?" He said after a moment, genuinely impressed. That couldn't possibly be easy or Szayel would have done it to himself and climbed the ranks. Max nodded with a small frown.

"Yes… but it has a definite downside. It's more difficult to control my reiatsu. My cero is becoming erratic and I expect that to get worse as I continue." He said and Starrk felt a great deal of concern. "I've experimented on some captured arrancar and some voluntold shinigami, though, so I'm sure it will be safe."

"…Voluntold?" Was that even a word? Max smiled before he explained cheerfully.

"Oh, you know… you there! You just volunteered!" Max mimed pointing at someone and Starrk chuckled at the thought. That was the kind of leadership that the Twelfth was accustomed to. "It's reversible anyway and Nemu knows how to take care of it if I start having issues. It will be several weeks before I've reached the point that I'll be able to survive you, however." Max adjusted his glasses and Starrk nodded as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

"I look forward to it." He said, genuinely meaning it. Max was already starting to grow on him. Perhaps they would have a future together that would involve more than one pup. Would it involve that cub of Aizen's though? That thought made him shudder a bit. "I really should be going." He needed to speak to Shunsui about that… thing.

Life was about to get more complicated.

* * *

"What is this issue you wanted brought before the Gotei 13, Kyoraku?" Yamamoto asked as Starrk sighed, tempted to rest his forehead against Shunsui's shoulder again. He'd done it earlier, dozing off as the other man did the same thing beneath his hat. Now, though, he just wanted some comfort. Instead he straightened, paying attention to the proceedings.

"Actually, I believe the taichou of the Twelfth might want to enlighten us on the circumstances." Shunsui said, fixing Max with a severe look. The arrancar adjusted his glasses, not remotely cowed.

"Before we begin I just want to say that none of this was my fault. I wasn't aware such things required 'informed consent'. I'm still in the process of reading this book…" He pulled out the book again and Starrk saw the small smile on Unohana's face. He was sure Mayuri had never read that book, except possibly for laughs. "And even if I had it wasn't my experiment. I just retrieved it from Szayel's lab."

"Yes, it's not your fault. Explain it to them." Starrk interrupted before Max could wander off on a tangent. The other arrancar beamed at him.

"Hmm, yes, this is the reason Coyote Starrk is at this meeting… you see, Szayel was experimenting with the possibility of cross breeding arrancar and shinigami." Max said cheerfully and there was suddenly a lot of attention on him. "I was looking through his laboratory – I'm much faster than my predecessor, I know where everything was kept – and I found that all the half-grown life forms were dead, but there was a freezer on a different circuit that was still functional. Most of what was in was actually rather nasty – experiments with various plague organisms – " Not something to gladden their hearts and Starrk winced a little. "I destroyed those – " Well, that was comforting. "But I also found a tray of inseminated arrancar eggs harvested from one Coyote Starrk. The semen used was from Aizen Sosuke."

"What?" Juushiro sounded appalled by the revelation. "Aizen allowed that?!" He questioned and Max shrugged, adjusting his glasses again.

"You'd have to ask him. If Szayel did it without permission, though, he was more insane than I thought. Still, he was the Aspect of Madness so we can't rule it out." He said and Starrk wondered if that could be possible. If so, how would Aizen react? The mind boggled. "Anyway, I was curious to see if they were viable so I tried to grow some of them. Several failed but one of them took and it's roughly three months along at this point. What shall we do with it?" He asked and there was a hum of conversation in the room.

"Mayuri would have suggested dissection." Shunsui observed with a smile and Max went a bit green. Starrk sighed, glancing at the ceiling. He knew his taichou was just teasing the arrancar. "But that might be a bit unethical, hmm?" Another tease and almost everyone except Max got the joke.

"Research into cross-breeding of hollows and shinigami was expressly forbidden by Central 46." Yamamoto said, giving Max a fishy look. He just blinked innocently.

"I know, but you do realize it will eventually happen naturally now that you are allowing more arrancar into your forces?" He said, which was absolutely true. A few numeros were being accepted on a case by case basis. "And I am not conducting the research myself. I just cultured some pre-existing tissue." He seemed to believe that was a valid defense and legally, he probably had a good case. There was more discussion after that but Starrk just let it wash over him. Finally, though, they got to him.

"This fetus is half you, Starrk-san. What do you wish done?" Unohana asked and Starrk sighed as he thought about it. He rested a hand on his forehead for a moment, feeling the cloth of his glove.

"…I'll adopt it." He finally said, resigned. He just couldn't stomach the thought of destroying the one that was already being grown. Although… "I want the zygotes destroyed." He said firmly. He was not in the least bit interested in potentially raising six of Aizen's offspring, and those things were just cells. "And if I see this one turning out like Aizen, I'll eat it." There was a stir at the table as the shinigami gave him appalled looks but he just met them with a steely stare.

"That's completely normal Beta behavior. Hollows are like animals and animals will eat a cub they don't like." Max supplied helpfully and Starrk nodded. "Besides, he's very intelligent and will be perfectly positioned to witness any psychopathic behavior. So isn't it for the best?"

"…It might be, actually." Shunsui said after a moment and there were grimaces around the table as Juushiro looked distressed. But no one protested. They didn't want another monster like Aizen. "And who are we to interfere with hallowed arrancar customs?" He said cheerfully and Max tittered as Starrk shook his head.

"Taichou-san, I would have to say our most hallowed custom is eating shinigami. Let's not get out of hand here." He said and there were a few snorts and smiles from the assembled taichou. "But Max and I will take care of it. I assume I will not be the only one adopting this?" He gave the arrancar a fish eyed look. Fortunately, Max readily assented.

"I can't wait to see how it turns out! It will be fascinating!" He said, adjusting his glasses again. Then Yamamoto called upon Hitsugaya for a report on his Division. Starrk rested his head against Shunsui's shoulder again. Really, he didn't need to be here anymore but it would be rude to just walk out.

Besides, he could use the nap.

* * *

Several weeks later.

Starrk half-closed his eyes, savoring the sweet strawberries. He was sharing an intimate dinner with Max and very much enjoying it. The food had been good but what he appreciated the most was the decadent, chocolate covered strawberries his Alpha had served for dessert. It was particularly thoughtful because Max had remembered that he liked them. That was truly impressive and Starrk was sure he'd noted it down there. Was there an entry in his diary labelled 'Coyote Starrk'? Quite likely.

"Did you like the food?" Max asked, a touch anxiously. Starrk smiled at him reassuringly.

"I loved it." He said sincerely. Max was an emu and had some odd tastes… fruit was the foremost of his loves, but he also adored toasted insects… but he knew Starrk was a coyote and had planned for that. The very rare steak head been absolutely delicious. "Particularly the strawberries." That was still impressing him and Max smiled shyly.

"You know, I thought you were gorgeous the first day I laid eyes on you." He said and Starrk stared, mildly surprised. "Such glorious power and so graceful… of course, I knew you would never look at me." He sounded a touch sad. "After all, I wasn't even an Espada… but I couldn't help but long for you from afar."

"Really?" Starrk couldn't help but feel flattered. After all… "None of the other Espada had much use for me." It was honestly painful to think about. He understood that most of them weren't strong enough to mate with him, but none of them had treated him as pack. Really, that was the closeness that he craved. Oddly enough, he was finding the Eighth was more of a coherent pack than the Espada ever had been. Max smiled cheerfully.

"They were all very strange!" He said and Starrk choked a little. Max calling someone else strange… "I could never figure out why Barragan didn't at least try for you. Honestly, why did he have such weak Betas? True, they could withstand his power but… well, maybe he was too old to breed." Max said in the tone of someone trying to be charitable. Starrk smiled, amused.

"I believe he was threatened by me." He said easily. "It's probably just as well." If Barragan had offered, would he have said yes? Quite likely, but that would not have been a match made in heaven. A proper Alpha was supposed to be protective and also respectful towards their Beta. Starrk could see Barragan being protective but respectful? Not so much. "Really, I think only Halibel would have suited me and she was…" He didn't finish the sentence and Max nodded, his expression going a bit vague as he remembered.

"Yes, quite. I don't understand that either. Well, ah, if you would like…?" Max blushed a little, looking adorably flustered. Starrk smiled warmly as he finished his last strawberry.

"Of course." He stood smoothly, stretching for a moment. Max stood hurriedly before watching him and Starrk was pleased and flattered by the lust on his face. Although he hoped Max's changes to himself worked. The other arrancar was confident but Starrk couldn't help but be worried.

Still, there was nothing he could do about that. So he set the worry aside as Max drew him into the bedroom. Clothing was discarded and Starrk gasped softly as he was pulled down onto the bed. Max was more than willing to dominate him, which was extremely pleasant to his Beta instincts. Teeth nibbled along the bend of his neck, digging in but not drawing blood. The mild pain was very stimulating.

"You taste wonderful…" Max murmured before reaching up and removing his glasses. They were set on the nearby bed stand and Starrk looked into those pale blue eyes. The color seemed more vivid without those little spectacles in the way. "How long I've dreamed of this."

"Max…" Starrk murmured, feeling his desire rising as he beheld the other Alpha, caught that spicy, enticing scent. It was much stronger now, signifying that a mating was indeed possible. They kissed then, their mouths – "Mrph!" Starrk jerked away sharply as an absolutely _foul_ taste hit his tongue. "Max, you taste awful! What in hell have you been eating?!" He demanded as the other arrancar looked confused.

"I – I haven't eaten anything unusual. What does it taste like?" He asked and Starrk grimaced before he nipped the Alpha. "Ow!"

"Nevermind. Figure it out later, sex now." They could sort that out some other time. Max was more than willing to oblige, big, long fingered hands stroking over his body. Starrk returned the favor, exploring his Alpha. He was built much like Kyoraku but his body hair was light gold and almost unnoticeable.

It didn't take long for Starrk to figure out that it wasn't just Max's saliva that tasted bad, though. His whole body tasted awful, wrong, and his blood was the worst. He found that out with a careful nip, as his Alpha sank into his body. Starrk didn't care much though. He was enjoying it all so much, so he put the mystery aside as Max took him, sliding in and out of his body in a slow, practiced rhythm. Starrk could feel that the other Alpha was far more experienced that he was, but that was no surprise. He was close to a virgin.

"Max…" He groaned, his eyes half-closing as his body was filled, so completely. Max nuzzled him, nipping his skin and Starrk dug his fingers into the other arrancar's shoulders as his body was rocked with the force of those powerful thrusts. Max was speeding up, taking him more forcefully now.

"Starrk. Oh kami, this is a dream come true…" The genuine lust in the other man's voice was really quite flattering. Starrk wouldn't have blamed Max if he was also settling, but it seemed like so much more. "Beta…"

"Alpha." Starrk breathed as he felt the connection building between them. This was where he might kill Max, when their powers started to merge. If his strength, his tolerance for the incredible reiatsu that made up the Primera was not enough, he would perish. "Oh kami!" The power within him continued to rise and he heard Max gasp. Looking into those blue eyes, he saw lust and pleasure. No pain.

"It's working…" Max tried to kiss him but Starrk didn't allow it, nuzzling him apologetically. He wasn't going to endure that taste any more than he had. "Sorry… oh…!" The power was rising to a howl, as they came closer and closer to orgasm. Could Max handle that energy rush? He'd come this far without any signs of strain. Surely…

Their powers continued the merge, gusting through the room and stroking their bodies like warm, velvety hands. Starrk was already on the edge and a particularly hard thrust, a deft stroke of Max's warm hands, brought him over. He cried out as his power rushed out, filling the room with naked force. Max shuddered but did not break apart, did not die under that barrage. Instead he absorbed it, endured it and found his own moment of intense pleasure. Starrk heard the other male cry out, felt that member inside him pulse hard as he released. That rush of power was much less than his own, but still very strong. It filled his insides with warmth and he finally allowed himself some hope. Perhaps, just perhaps, he would finally have a cub inside his body…

They lay together on the bed, spent and trembling in the aftermath of pleasure. Starrk gently kissed Max then, ignoring the taste in favor of an expression of love. Max sighed, kissing him back. The warmth of it was so… Starrk was at a loss for words.

"Oh Starrk." Max's eyes were warm and hazy with pleasure as he pulled away. "I hope we will be together for a long time." There was a tentative note to his voice and Starrk chuckled softly.

"Oh, I think you can count on that." He said as the other arrancar settled down beside him. Max smiled, and it was sweet to see. Although… "Why do you taste so bad, though? It's not just your saliva, it's your blood too." That was very strange. Max looked thoughtful for a moment before suddenly blinking.

"Oh yes! I'd forgotten about that! I'm mildly poisonous." He said and Starrk lifted an eyebrow. That was NOT a trait associated with emu. "I adapted it from a numero whose base form was a poisonous frog. As for why I did… well… you remember how Szayel was in the habit of eating his fraccion…?"

"Oh." Starrk stifled a laugh. "I'm beginning to see how you survived working with him." Max was very clever. "Did that ever come in handy?" He asked, morbidly curious. Max grimaced, snuggling up beside him.

"Yes, it did actually. I'd rather not discuss it." He said firmly and Starrk let it drop. "I'll try to find a way to fix that. I hardly need it anymore."

"Mmm hmmm." No one here would be trying to eat Max. Starrk let himself curl up with the other arrancar, lulled to sleep by the warmth and the rhythm of his breathing. When was the last time he'd slept with someone other than himself? Not since he'd lost Lilinette…

He drifted to sleep filled with odd dreams of giant flightless birds playing with baby coyotes.


	4. Chapter 4

"Max, what is this… thing?" Starrk asked, gazing over the assembled hardware. It looked extremely odd, particularly since there was a very ornate silver coffee pot on top. The shinigami sitting on the floor next to it, beaming in a very unsettling way, did not enhance the image.

"It's my brand new coffee machine!" Max said cheerfully and Starrk made a mental note not to drink the coffee when he came to visit. "I think I might have broken a dimensional wall of some kind, however. It causes intense euphoria that lingers quite a long time yet it's merely coffee. Isn't that right, Ryuu-san?" He said to the shinigami, who gazed away with a beatific expression on his face.

"It's all so marvelous…" He said and Starrk quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Was he a voluntold?" He asked and, to his slight surprise, Max shook his head as he adjusted his glasses.

"No, real volunteer. I experimented with rats and noted the euphoric effects and he asked to try it. We have some strange sorts around here! I look forward to questioning him when it finally wears off." He said and Starrk wondered if the 'coffee' would prove to be addictive. He wouldn't be the least bit surprised. "I think I'm going to have to water it down… anyway. Are we ready to bring new life into the world?" He asked with a manic smile and Starrk winced.

"I wish you hadn't put it that way." It was time to remove Aizen's offspring from the artificial womb. Amusingly, they knew now that Aizen had NOT authorized experiments with his own genetic code. Shunsui had delivered the news to him in his cell and the former tyrant of Hueco Mundo had reportedly been rendered speechless. After that, though, he'd made it clear that he wasn't interested in being a father. Not that his opinions really mattered at this point.

The child in the tube looked very real, now. Starrk thought that the artificial womb was quite a strange thing, particularly the cord. Vaguely, he wondered how Max had created it. Although knowing Mayuri, it might have already been here. He wouldn't put it past him. Speaking of which…

"Do you know what happened to your predecessor?" He hadn't heard anything of Kurotsuchi for a while. Max nodded as he adjusted the equipment.

"Indeed, they kept him in the Fourth for a time before determining the damage was entirely mental. He's in a catatonic state… they've placed him in the Mukan for safekeeping, with regular visits. Unohana has actually asked me for help designing some therapies." Max said cheerfully and Starrk blinked. Wasn't that a bit of a conflict of interest? Max certainly had no motivation to bring Kurotsuchi back to a functioning state. "It's such an intriguing problem!" Ah. A challenge would do it. "I really don't anticipate much success though. I remember what it felt when I was brushed and he was covered in so many…" Max shuddered and Starrk was glad he hadn't experienced it. "Anyway. Moment of truth!" Max said cheerfully before hitting a button. The tube slowly drained, depositing the infant on the bottom of the tube. Then the doors opened and Starrk was treated to a very offended scream. He waited patiently as Max gently extracted the child, removing the cord and treating the little one with some kind of swab over his mouth and nose?

"What is that for?" He asked curiously as Max weighed and measured the child. He had dark brown hair, damp from birth but Starrk thought it would be roughly his own shade. Max answered absently as he worked.

"A special bacterial swab full of healthy bacteria, to help encourage a good gut and correct development." He said before beaming at the child. "Seven pounds, four ounces, a good healthy weight! …Yes, Unohana taichou recommended that. This little one isn't being exposed to natural gut flora from a dam so he needs some help. Here we go!" Max gently wrapped the baby in a blue blanket and Starrk couldn't help but smile. "Would you like to hold your son?"

"Please." Starrk gently took the little bundle and couldn't help but feel a connection. His reiatsu recognized his own power and instincts urged him to take care of the little pup. It helped that the child was genuinely adorable. Soft blue eyes gazed up at him and Starrk vaguely wondered if the color would eventually change. The child's soft features reminded him of Aizen.

"What do you think?" Max asked anxiously. Starrk knew precisely why… he was afraid the Beta would reject his offspring. It was rare but did happen and this strange conception made it more likely. He smiled reassuringly at the other arrancar as he cradled the small pup to his chest.

"It's fine." He assured the other arrancar, who looked relieved. "And are you alright with the name?"

"Indeed! Little Angelo. I'm honored that you let me pick it." Max beamed at the child. "I know you're just trying to foster a connection between us but I'm still very touched." He added and Starrk gave him an amused glance. He wasn't surprised the other arrancar had picked up on that. But for an unrelated Alpha to adopt a Beta's pup, well… it was unusual to say the least. "May I hold him?"

"Of course." Not really to his surprise, Max handled the baby with assurance. Angelo took the transition easily, gazing up at his second parent with curious eyes. He reached up with one tiny hand and Max gave him a finger to hold, cradling the boy in the crook of his arm. "I'll take him home and get him settled." Starrk was taking maternal leave to take care of his offspring. He was hopeful it would be a long term leave. If he was lucky, Max might seed him quickly. He'd been aching to have offspring for so long… little Angelo was wonderful, but he wanted the feeling of carrying a child, feeling the fluttering life in his body.

"Of course. I'll be there soon!" Max promised, handing back the pup. Angelo fussed a bit until Starrk got him outside and launched into a sonido. Hollow children were never harmed by those pressures and he was sure Angelo would be no different. Glancing down, he smiled as he saw the child's wide eyes and look of wonder.

He had no idea how Angelo would turn out at this point, but he already liked the pup. That might be a good sign.

* * *

A few months later.

Starrk wasn't terribly happy to be pulled away from his child, but with a babysitter supplied by the Second, he was willing to tolerate it. The woman in question was a deadly shinobi and had raised two children of her own to adulthood. So now he was standing in the Rukongai, waiting to find out what he was needed for.

"…I need your help to locate a hollow." Starrk quirked his eyebrows at Soi Fon. With both him and Max present this hollow must be giving them problems indeed. "We are absolutely certain there is a vasto lorde in the Rukongai. However, we are having difficulty locating it."

"The Rukongai? Whatever for? There would be nothing for such a hollow to eat there." Max asked in a wondering tone and Starrk nodded. A vasto lorde might be non-evolving and not in need of food, but – "And no other, ahem, amusements." That made Starrk wince a little but he understood what Max was getting at. If a vasto lorde tried to entertain himself with plus souls, well, they wouldn't last for long. "Well. Unless the vasto lorde is possibly a psychopath. But even then adjuchas would be far more durable. Have you been finding bodies in an interesting state?" Max asked brightly and Soi Fon favored him with a scowl.

"No. But there is a powerful reiatsu that we keep detecting." She said shortly and Max reached up to scratch his beard before giving Starrk a glance. He just shrugged helplessly. He had no idea. Max shrugged as well before pulling out a gadget.

"Well, Starrk and I will do our best to find it! Shall we?" He invited and Starrk nodded before going into sonido. He could feel Soi Fon following, which was fair enough. They were likely to be at the centre of the action. He would be surprised if even a vasto lorde could evade the two of them.

He wasn't expecting it to be quite so short, though. But they didn't find the vasto lorde… she found them.

"FINALLY!" Max went down with a squawk of surprise, a bone covered foot right in the back of his head. Then he yelped as that foot shoved his head down, several times. Starrk stared as he took in the hollow. She was definitely a vasto lorde and looked like her base form might be some kind of pig? Her facial mask had tusks, which gave her an intimidating look. "I was starting to think I'd have to strip naked to get your attention, you asshole!" Her voice was extremely abrasive and had an odd squeal at the end that almost made him cringe.

"Oh dear, oh dear." Max sounded quite pathetic. "Sister, I love you, please stop stepping on my head?" He appealed and the vasto lorde snorted before removing her foot. Starrk and Soi Fon both looked at them in surprise.

"This is your sister?" Starrk was surprised. She was much stronger than Max had been before his manipulations of his own reiatsu. She looked at him and he saw her eyes were bright red, intelligent and malicious.

"He was the runt of the litter." She said derisively as Max pulled himself to his feet. "And he's much uglier than usual." She said, which made her brother take on a wounded expression.

"How terribly hurtful." He sounded very hurt, indeed. "How did you avoid Aizen's recruitment drive?" He asked, adjusting his glasses. "I wondered why I never ran into you and mother." He said and she hissed.

"We were having a Meeboo marathon in one of the seki-seki mountains! You remember how long those can last!" Meeboo? Starrk wasn't sure he wanted to know. "We missed the whole thing! And then we came out to find these weird hollows without bones and this idiot with blue hair challenged us to a fight!" Ah, Grimmjow. That, he could see. "We killed him but he broke mama's mask! She's DYING and you need to come home to say goodbye!" That made him blink. Grimmjow was dead? Max looked mildly shocked.

"Mother is dying? My word, really? I thought the old hag was immortal." Starrk was honestly expecting him to get hit but his sister seemed to agree with his opinion of their mother. "Of course I'll… wait." Max suddenly gave his sister an extremely suspicious look. "Is this a ploy to get me close so mother can eat me to get her strength back up?" He asked and Starrk heard Soi Fon choke at that. He grimaced, rubbing his face. Would Szayel have eaten his own offspring to survive? Yes, without a doubt. The pig hollow stared at him for a moment.

"Well, no, it wasn't." Then she poked a finger into Max's chest. "But that's a good idea! Maybe we should try that. I don't think it would work but not much of a loss, hey?"

"…You are terribly cruel to me." Max complained. "What have I done to deserve this treatment?" He asked and the female hollow suddenly flared up.

"You tried to feed me a cheese full of MAGGOTS! I don't care if you're an emu and it looked appetizing! I hate you and I hope you die!" She berated him and Starrk winced. Cheese full of maggots? Max looked harassed.

"Humans were eating it! I heard someone say it was wonderful! And it looked amazing, I just couldn't resist." He complained and she hissed at him. Then Soi Fon spoke up, musingly.

"I know that cheese. I read about it in a 'disgusting foods' column in the Seireitei communications. It's a delicacy in Sardinia and also illegal because the maggots can survive into the intestines and burrow through the walls." Starrk honestly wished he hadn't heard that. And it only served to infuriate the pig hollow more.

"And you tried to feed that to us!" Her fist hit Max on the top of his head and he made a small 'ow' sound as she forced him down. He was being very submissive towards her, Starrk noticed. But even unbroken, her power was somewhat stronger than his. She'd likely been much stronger before Max had become an arrancar. Then she stopped, drawing her fist away. "Well are you coming to see mother or not? You are the only other child she has!" The vasto lorde said and Starrk looked at her curiously.

"May I ask your name?" He asked politely. She turned to him, gazing at him challengingly. Then she stalked towards him and Starrk frowned. He could sense the powerful Alpha energy in the air, but didn't like it. He fixed her with a hard stare and raised his power, rebuffing her coldly. She stopped before sneering at him. Well, it was a bit hard with the bone in the way, but he thought that was the body language.

"Gemma Hannuchaku. And who are you, Beta?" Yes, most definitely a sneer. Tones worked better than body language. Starrk narrowed his eyes before suddenly shoving her with his power. She grunted and took a step back as he spoke.

"Coyote Starrk, formerly the Primera Espada and currently mated to your brother." He said, glaring dangerously. Her eyes suddenly widened, though.

"You're mated to MAX? How?!" She demanded. Then she looked at her brother thoughtfully. "Although his reiatsu is stronger than usual. And pretty weird. Have you been messing with yourself again?"

"Er, yes actually." Max frowned, rubbing his beard for a moment. "Sister, I would need to get permission to go with you." He glanced at Soi Fon, who nodded before contributing.

"Shinigami can request leave to go visit an ailing parent. Although this is rather unusual, given that the parent is a full hollow." Soi Fon sounded a bit bemused by the whole thing. Starrk shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Mmm, it shouldn't happen often. Born hollows are rare… Max might be the only one in your forces." He'd vaguely known Max had been born from something he'd let drop, but he'd never expected his family to actually come out of the woodwork. "The problem is Angelo. I'm not letting you go alone and we can't bring him." After Max's suspicions about his mother eating him, which had been dead serious to Starrk's ears, he was not letting his Alpha go anywhere without him.

"Angelo? You have a pup already?" Gemma sounded a little bemused and Max frowned, adjusting his glasses. "Mother is a grandmother? I'm not sure if she'd love that or hate it."

"Hate it, definitely… the child belongs to Starrk but not myself. I've adopted him." Max said firmly as his sister stared. Then she laughed, a raucous sound with a horrible piggish squeal. It made all three of them flinch.

"Oh my god, seriously? You're pathetic! Mother would hate that, for damn sure!" She said merrily and Starrk glowered, although he knew her reaction would be quite common. An Alpha adopting an unrelated child… it was hardly ever done. "Well whatever, I don't care. Get permission and come meet me outside this filthy place. Mother doesn't have much time." Then she vanished in a burst of sonido.

"Oh dear. Mother, dying? It's like the end of an era." Max said musingly and Starrk just shook his head. "I suppose I'll have to go to the Soutaichou for permission. Starrk, could you see about finding a more long term babysitter? I imagine Juushiro might know someone."

"I'll look into it." He promised before glancing at Soi Fon. "Is it alright that we let her go?" They had been out here to catch the hollow. Although they hadn't anticipated that she'd be Max's sister. Soi Fon shrugged.

"It should be fine. She hadn't actually killed anyone, just flashed her reiatsu around. Now I suppose we know why." She sounded mildly amused by the whole thing. "Good luck." Very amused. They all parted ways and Starrk wondered what Max's mother would be like.

He was about to find out.

* * *

"Max?" Starrk looked at the creature in front of him with a certain degree of horror. It… she was a vasto lorde, but not a particularly human one. Her body was elongated, a good two feet taller than himself. Her arms were spindly but had odd little flaps, and her body was winged. Her eyes were insect-like, compound and glowing with a green fire. The broken bones, though, were very bad. One wing was shattered and hanging while a great rift was growing on her body. Starrk could tell just from looking at it that it would only spread further until this hollow was gone. "What is your mother's base form?" He had a feeling… Max confirmed it with a small wince.

"Praying mantis." He admitted and Starrk grimaced at the thought, sticking his hands in his pockets. Even for vasto lorde, base forms dictated a great deal of behavior.

"Your childhood must have been wonderful." He said and Max suddenly smiled. It was his familiar, manic expression.

"Oh, it was terrifying! It did make me very fast though! Mother always said I wasn't the strongest but I was the fastest. You know, once she even promised not to eat me. Then of course she tried to grab me! But I didn't trust her and I got away. Then she told me I was also the smartest." He said with manic good cheer and Starrk winced. "I admit, though, I'm very glad you're warm blooded. The thought of getting my head bitten off during coitus is so horrifying, don't you think?" Starrk hadn't known that was the usual procedure for a praying mantis and honestly wished he hadn't been given the information.

"Max." They both looked at that voice. "You look uglier than usual." The praying mantis said, her voice a dull rasp. It sounded drained and sick. Max looked wounded, adjusting his glasses. "What are those things on your face?"

"Eh? Oh, reading glasses! You remember how I could always see amazing distances but couldn't make out things close up? And how sister kept using that to cheat on the Meeboo board until you noticed and decked her? This fixes that!" Max said cheerfully and Starrk made a mental note to ask about Meeboo sometime. It was a board game?

"Ah. Useful – " Then the mantis moved with a frightening speed. Starrk lunged forward as Max leapt out of the way with amazing agility. Starrk's arm clashed with a bony hand and there was a bubbling laugh before the mantis retreated. "Just for old time's sake. I see you're as fast as ever, boy." She said and it sounded appreciative. Then compound eyes looked at him thoughtfully. "Who are you?"

"Coyote Starrk, former Primera Espada and Max's Beta." He said firmly and she cocked her head to one side. He could feel the brush of her reiatsu, a testing of his powers.

"That so? You've done well, boy. A good, strong Beta." She said, then chuckled again. It was wet and rasping. "And not as perilous as I. Well, come inside. We have the Meeboo board set up. Might as well pass the time, eh?"

"We won't be able to finish the game." Gemma said and Starrk was struck by the true sadness in her voice. Max looked at the ground, his shoulders slumping with dejection. The mantis just shrugged a bit, her bones rattling.

"It will take my mind off the pain." She said and Starrk didn't doubt that she was in pain. The wounds were ugly. "And when I die, the two of you can eat me." She sounded at peace with the prospect. Starrk could understand. Now he would ask for konso, but back when he'd been an arrancar in Los Noches… who would he have selected to eat him, if he was mortally wounded? Probably Halibel. That insect-like head tilted towards him, a compound eye examining him for a moment. "You can too."

"I am honored." He said politely, although he didn't intend to take her up on the offer. He was too powerful already. "Forgive me, what is your name?"

"Ottavia Guerra." She said, which Starrk thought was rather pretty. "Come." He followed as she led them into the seki-seki stone mountain.

Such formations were common to this particular area. Rough seki stone, unpurified, they were still more than enough the muffle the reiatsu signature of even a vasto lorde. Starrk vaguely wondered how many had avoided Aizen by using such things. Probably not that many. Vasto lorde were rare to begin with, and hiding in such thing for any length of time was boring even for a hollow.

However, this one had been spruced up. Starrk stared at the etchings on the ground with a sense of awe. How long had it taken to create this? Max was more than willing to explain.

"You see, Meeboo is a game from the Living World. Mother knew it when she was alive. But it literally takes hours to set up the board and the board was becoming extremely frayed, so we etched it into the ground. Took forever! But now it's quite easy to start a game. We have had to replace the cards and dice multiple times, with ones we've made. But we made the cards out of stone so now they last quite a while too. I'd ask if you want to play but it takes far too long to learn." Max adjusted his glasses, glancing over the board. "Mother doesn't really have time for that."

"No. And it's frustrating, teaching it. Even worse teaching it to children… I ate one of your brothers for asking too many stupid questions." She said as she picked up the deck of cards. "My apologies. It's boring to watch."

"That's fine." Starrk said with a small smile. "I can take a nap." He was relatively sure Max would be safe enough, now. And he could use the opportunity to catch up on some serious sleeping time.

In the end, they played for almost a week. The cracks in their mother's bone gradually grew wider as she became weaker, but the two of them did not mention it, just distracting her with the game. Starrk slept quite a bit but when he was awake, he watched. It was boring but also oddly fascinating… Meeboo was a bit like Risk but far more involved, with diplomacy and strategy. At one point, Gemma and Ottavia formed an alliance against Max, largely because he'd taken a salt mine and was in danger of getting a stranglehold on the entire salt trade. Salt was apparently quite vital for armies and every player wanted a piece of it. That alliance, though, disintegrated after they'd taken back the main coastal city and Max bribed his mother to help him. Gemma's squeal of outrage made her brother laugh.

Finally, though, the end came. The game was nowhere near finished when Ottavia fell into a deep lassitude, unable to continue. Her children both stayed beside her as the glow faded from her eyes, green mist escaping from the crack in her body. When she was dead, they did as she had asked. Starrk watched, his hands in his pockets as the two of them devoured the remains. He vaguely knew a shinigami would be horrified by the sight, but they just didn't understand their ways. Even arrancar were still hollows, in the end.

"Well." Max said with a sigh as they exited the mountain, Gemma following behind. "It really does seem like the end of an era. Who will you play Meeboo with now?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Probably no one. It's too bad I can't break my mask and look at Soul Society, but they'd never want me around like this. I'm shocked they took you! Mmm… maybe I'll go see if I can find a Beta somewhere, raise a brood." She said and Max looked thoughtful for a moment.

"You know, maybe I should see if there's a way to create an arrancar without the hogyoku. I doubt it but you never know…" Starrk wondered how likely that was. His guess was, not very. "Well, if I find a way I'll let you know. Good luck, sister!"

"Good luck, ugly little brother." She said and they parted ways. Starrk snapped his fingers, forming a garganta back to Soul Society. Thanks to the time difference, only a few days would have passed there and he was eager to see Angelo again.

As strange as the beginning had been, his little son was the joy of his life.


	5. Chapter 5

Kyoraku Shunsui smiled as he tugged the brim of his hat over his eyes. It was almost Max's turn and the arrancar was almost vibrating. He'd never seen anyone so excited to give their monthly report.

Some might disagree, but he considered his recruitment of the arrancar to be a true stroke of genius. Maximiliano was insane, but not in a dangerous way. And he definitely had the intelligence and inspiration to be a true head of the Twelfth. His only problem was lack of direction, and between them both Nemu and Starrk were keeping him in line. All in all, it was a stunning success.

"Ah, yes! I wanted to tell you all about my funding." That gave him a small feeling of dread, though. Funding was always the Achilles heel of the Twelfth and if anything, Max was worse than Mayuri. Fortunately Nemu was learning to be firm with him but even so – "We are a million yen in the red!" Oh kami.

"Maximiliano. You will not be receiving additional funds." Yamamoto growled and Shunsui winced as he felt the Soutaichou's temper rising. Max looked confused.

"Additional? No I don't… OH! Did I reverse the colors? Yes, yes I did! We are a million yen in the BLACK! We are profitable! You may congratulate me at any time!" He said with an insane smile and Shunsui lifted back the edge of his hat. What?

"What?" Juushiro said, startled. "How could you possibly…?" He questioned. It did seem preposterous. Shunsui tried to remember a time the Twelfth had ever shown a profit. He couldn't remember one and he'd been around for quite a long time.

"I made a new, improved and utterly amazing coffee brewing system!" Max said cheerfully and Shunsui lifted his eyebrows. That… sounded ominous. "I'm renting them out to all the coffee shops in the Seireitei and there's several applications from the Rukongai already! I'm sure that soon enough, every single coffee shop in Soul Society will be carrying my coffee!"

"…What have you done?" He asked, feeling deeply apprehensive. What was so special about this 'coffee' that all the coffee shops were willing to rent the machines? Max was not loathe to explain.

"I was just thinking about how marvelous coffee tastes and how I could make it even better. So I started to design the ideal coffee machine! The perfect temperature, the perfect grind, just the right length of time… everything!" Max paused with a frown, adjusting his glasses. "Then I, um, got a bit distracted thinking about dimensional doors and I broke a wall somewhere… However, I've isolated the cause of the effect! It's tiny reishi fragments impregnating the coffee. At first the fragments were too large, causing a lasting euphoria. However, now I have adjusted the size of them and created a coffee that merely gives a brief touch of heaven. It's wonderful! Everyone in the Twelfth is drinking it." He said with a brilliant smile that everyone greeted with deep suspicion.

"Is this substance addictive? Have you brought it to the Fourth for analysis?" Yamamoto asked and Max adjusted his glasses with a blink.

"Oh, yes, it's addictive. But only in the sense that coffee is always addictive… I ran several experiments with animals and also a group of volunteers. They drank a pot of it for a month, then I forced them to stop drinking it completely for a week. There were headaches, tantrums and quite a bit of whining… all the usual symptoms of caffeine withdrawal. That wore off within three days and they were back to normal, although quite sullen about it. My people seem to regard coffee as a life giving fluid… Um. Yes. And I did take the whole thing to Unohana taichou. Taichou?" He appealed to her and she smiled before explaining.

"We have examined his coffee. It appears to be quite harmless, as it is designed." She said calmly. "However, that is because Maximiliano manipulated the size of the reishi fragments. That is why he is renting the machines… to provide maintenance but also to make certain no one is altering them back."

"Yes, that was Unohana taichou's idea! I would never have thought of it. And she's right, some bright spark out there is sure to try puzzling out my equipment. They'll have to be a very bright spark indeed but I imagine it will happen sooner or later. There might be a brief epidemic of people going 'oh so beautiful', but then I'll fix it and have a new recruit for the Twelfth!" Max said with an insane smile before going back to what he saw as the main point. "However, what will I do with my surplus? I can't find anything anywhere about what to do if a Division MAKES money. It seems to be assumed that we will always be consumers of currency."

"Hah!" That was a funny way to put it. "Surely you have projects you could use it on?" Shunsui asked. He was a bit surprised Max had brought this to them at all, rather than just plowing the money back into the Twelfth. The arrancar adjusted his glasses.

"I already did that. I completely landscaped the Division, put in persimmon trees – those are rather nice when they're ripe, aren't they? – and made sure all the stores were completely full and the long term projects fully funded. There are quite a few coffee shops in the Seireitei, you know. The whole coffee culture has exploded massively in the last twenty years!" He actually hadn't known that. Tea was his beverage of choice, when he wasn't drinking sake. "I'm also working on a lollipop variation. However, that's far trickier. The reishi fragments tend to separate out over time. Coffee is an ideal vehicle because it's served immediately and has a relatively lengthly brewing process. Tea doesn't – "

"Max." Yama-jii also knew how to handle the arrancar by now. He stopped talking, looking faintly embarrassed. "Bring me your financial records and we will go over what should be done. Now, Ukitake?" Shunsui was vaguely disappointed that he wouldn't find out what was going to happen with that. But then, a new procedure would have to be put in place to deal with it. Vaguely, he wondered if Max would be allowed to keep a percentage of the profits. Wasn't that the usual procedure in the Living World? He had no idea.

They would just have to wait and see.

* * *

Starrk sighed as he tried to comfort little Angelo. The child was a year old, now.

Angelo was growing very well, by shinigami standards. Starrk had been concerned about that at first. He had known nothing about how shinigami grew and sadly, he'd never been able to raise a child as a vasto lorde. Max hadn't been too helpful. While he was an experienced sire – he apparently had two children, who might even be alive – he was limited to his knowledge of life as an adjuchas. His children had been out of the nest and running around within… well, Max didn't know since there was basically no time measurements in Hueco Mundo. But he estimated a few months.

So Starrk had bought books and questioned several shinigami to see if Angelo was growing well. Thankfully, it seemed to be normal. His little one could walk, although not too well. He could speak, although his only real words were mama and dada. He could turn the pages of his favorite book as Starrk read it to him, and he was always eager to play. Pleasantly, he was also sleeping through the night. The time he'd been waking them for regular feedings had been annoying, but it was mostly over now. And the little boy himself was a joy.

Now, though, they were taking him to see Aizen. Starrk thought it was the decent thing to do, even if the man had never intended to have a child. Max was going with him for support and to help with Angelo. For good reason… the mukan was a very scary place for a small child. Starrk gently murmured to Angelo as he buried his face into Starrk's chest. He could feel the tiny child shaking in his arms

Matters did not improve when they finally got to see the would-be tyrant. Starrk blinked at the level of restraints. The throne of solid seki stone… he winced a little as he thought about how much it must have cost. Purified seki-seki stone was not even remotely cheap. The black silk that was wrapped around him looked soft and delicate, but Starrk knew that was deceptive. He could see the symbols worked into the silk, sense the incredibly powerful bindings. The silk was also wound over one of Aizen's eyes, which was curious.

"Starrk." Aizen sounded calm and mildly amused. His sharp eyes had noticed Starrk's burden and the man was far from stupid. Although his gaze settled on Max for a moment. "Who is this?" Starrk wasn't surprised that he couldn't remember.

"Maximiliano Pappano! I was Szayel's assistant!" Max said cheerfully. "You must remember that cannon I built? The one that worked so well until Yammy punched it and it exploded and took out almost half his wing?" That made Starrk wince. He'd had the misfortune to be in the area at the time and while he'd taken no damage, the sonic boom… his ears had been ringing for weeks. Aizen blinked slowly.

"…I do remember you now. Interesting. And you're wearing a taichou's haori? What happened to Mayuri?" He asked, mildly curious. Starrk spoke before Max could go into the whole story.

"It's a long story but he's more insane than usual. His room is probably somewhere above yours." Since he wasn't really a prisoner, Mayuri was being treated gently. But the Mukan was also for long term storage of those who might eventually be dangerous. If Kurotsuchi regained some control but not his sanity, he might be a menace.

"They must be scraping the bottom of the barrel to select an arrancar." Aizen said and Max looked wounded. Starrk thought about mentioning the coffee trend but then decided not to. They didn't really need to get distracted by silliness. "So that is my son." The baby was hiding even more now. Starrk didn't blame him a bit. "What is his name?"

"Coyote Angelo." They had chosen to name the child in the shinigami way, and give him Starrk's little used first name as a last name. It would make him fit in a bit better, although the foreign nature of the names would go against that. Aizen watched with mild curiosity as Starrk gently urged the child to look at his 'father'. Angelo took one look and screamed before bursting into tears. Starrk sighed and tried to comfort him. "Sorry."

"You are such a terrifying sight in those awful bindings! Poor thing… here, give him this." Max offered him a lollipop. Starrk regarded it with suspicion but let Angelo have it. The baby calmed immediately, sucking on his treat and looking at Aizen with soft eyes. "My new reiatsu fragment lollipop! Isn't it amazing?"

"Max, stop using our child as a guinea pig." Although it was very useful at the moment. Aizen lifted his one visible eyebrow at that.

"Our child?" He asked and Starrk hesitated before nodding.

"Yes. Max has adopted him and is helping me raise him." And he was turning out to be a very good provider. It had been decided that Max would get ten percent of the profits from his inventions, and the same would be true of any of the Twelfth's scientists. There was a sudden surge of creativity going on, last he'd heard. But that meant that their money situation was secure, to say the least. "He's a good little boy, very bright." Angelo could already do some baby puzzles and he loved them. Starrk thought he was highly intelligent, although it was hard to say. "I would let you hold him but…" Obviously, that was not possible. It was probably just as well, Starrk wouldn't trust Aizen not to kill the child. He was a ruthless, powerful man. Aizen considered the baby for a moment before nodding.

"He looks like me. Intriguing. I'm still not happy about a half-arrancar brat, but I suppose it could be worse." Aizen said before looking at Starrk. "Will you bring him back?" Starrk thought he could detect a bit of loneliness in the man, although it was very difficult to be sure.

"If you want." Starrk said after a moment. "Once a year, perhaps." They would have to get permission for such visits, but it might be allowed. They might insist another taichou start accompanying them, just to make sure nothing untoward was occurring, but Starrk wouldn't mind. Aizen nodded.

"No doubt with Kyoraku or Ukitake in attendance." He said cynically and Starrk blinked at the weird echoing of his thoughts. "Well, I'm sure you'll take good care of him." That hint of loneliness again. Starrk was quite sensitive to that emotion, for obvious reasons. But he wasn't going to waste sympathy on Aizen and it was time for them to go. Carrying Angelo, Starrk left the Mukan with Max by his side. The little baby just sucked contentedly on his lolly and Starrk made a mental note to only use those in emergencies.

He didn't quite trust Max's inventiveness.

* * *

Starrk looked over the newly landscaped grounds of the Twelfth, his hands in his pockets.

Kurotsuchi had never bothered with the appearance of his Division, aside from putting some sod in to maintain appearances. Max, however, had an entirely different ethos. Maybe it was because he was an emu, a creature accustomed to rolling plains, suitable for running fast and far. Or maybe it was just because he was a hollow and thus, more in tune with his animal nature. But he disliked dark laboratories and believed in the benefits of plenty of sun.

So everything had changed. The building itself was gradually gaining more windows, ones that Max had specifically designed to tint according to the intensity of the sun. They were also coated with a special sheathing. Starrk was vague on how it worked, but apparently it warned birds and bats away, so they wouldn't run into the windows and kill themselves. Then there was the grounds… Starrk wasn't sure who Max had hired for that or if he had, perhaps, done it himself. But the result was gorgeous. There were persimmon trees everywhere and they looked radiantly healthy. Also quite a few cherry trees, which probably wouldn't bear this year but might the next. The grass was thick and plush, and there was a stone path leading up to the Division entrance and branching off into the garden. Max had torn down a single storehouse to put in that garden. There was a koi pond, bonsai trees and several benches, as well as a full meditation garden. Starrk tried to imagine Max meditating and mentally gave up.

Angelo, though, absolutely loved the gardens. Starrk smiled as his young son ran across the springy grass, his bare feet hardly touching the ground. Once he slipped and fell but then he just climbed back to his feet, grinning widely. It was adorable and Starrk took his time, letting the pup explore. His joy in life was infectious and Starrk smiled as he caught the little pup, tickling him until he burst into laughter.

They did have something to do, though. It was time for Angelo's checkup and also his own… carrying him inside, Starrk smiled as he made his way through the Division. He was getting as familiar with it as the Eighth. A few questions led him to Max. When he opened the door, though, Angelo immediately whimpered and Starrk winced. This was a heavy machinery area and there were some very loud noises, as well as peculiar smells. Was Max putting together another cannon? Whatever he was doing, he was wearing safety goggles and employing a heavy duty cutter.

"Max? Max!" Starrk called before realizing he was also wearing ear protection. Which made sense but… "Damn it." He concentrated and flared his reiatsu. That caused Max to lift his head from what he was doing and glance around. Starrk waved and the other arrancar nodded before shutting down his equipment and pulling off his protective headgear.

"Oh, Starrk! Is it that time already?" He asked and Starrk smiled, amused.

"Actually, I'm late." Although that was never a problem with Max. He could always find something to do. "I think we should get going, though." Without the sounds Angelo was calming a bit but he was still scrunching his nose. Starrk was willing to bet his tiny offspring was 'blessed' with his sense of smell.

"Oh, of course!" Max smiled, peeling off the rest of his gear before taking them out of the room. The place they went to reminded Starrk of one of the examination rooms at the Fourth. There was an examination table, a scale and plenty of other doctor-like things. Also another potted plant, this one looking like some kind of fern. "Here we go…" Max took Angelo, gently setting him on the table. It was covered in a disposable paper covering and made him giggle as it crunched a little. "Aren't you so adorable? Let me see…" Starrk watched patiently as Maximiliano gave Angelo a full checkup, checking his heartbeat, weight, reflexes, and even taking some blood and reiatsu samples. The little boy took it well, just gazing at his 'father' with soft eyes and sucking on his thumb. "He's so sweet! Now, for you!" Starrk chuckled as he lifted Angelo in his arms, taking his place on the examination table.

The reason they were looking at him was simple… Max was considering using artificial aides to enhance his fertility. Apparently, it was common practice for a shinigami women who desperately wanted to conceive. Even with help the process could take decades, even centuries. Starrk didn't expect much but it was definitely worth a try. Given that he was an arrancar, though, any treatment would need to be tailored to his body and reiatsu.

The tests were reasonably similar to the ones Max had run on Angelo, at first. But then they took an odd turn.

"Starrk… there's something odd here." Max frowned as he looked at his instruments. "If I didn't know better I would think… wait. Wait!" Starrk blinked as the arrancar suddenly seemed very excited. "I must run a full reiatsu scan! Come with me, now!"

"What? Max…" Starrk tried to protest but his arm was seized and he didn't try to resist as the other man dragged him out of the room. Angelo started to fuss a little and Starrk gently comforted him. "Max? I think he needs to be changed." He had the diaper bag with him, he took it with him everywhere. And his keen sense of smell could pick up the stench.

"Yes, yes, you do that while I get the equipment ready…" Starrk quirked an eyebrow at him then shrugged, taking care of Angelo as Max got his things ready. This was a more exotic room, with full body scanners and other odd things. Angelo didn't care and the vivisection table was easily repurposed as a changing table. A few wet naps and baby powder and his child was clean again. Angelo enjoyed the process, giggling as his bottom was tickled.

Max had to watch over Angelo and monitor the equipment at the same time as Starrk was scanned. That didn't seem to bother him a bit and Starrk waited patiently as his reiatsu was thoroughly checked. What did Max thing was wrong? Probably nothing, just some oddity of his insane body –

"Oh yes! Remarkable! Amazing!" Starrk quirked an eyebrow at his Alpha. Max seemed to be in rhapsodies over something. "Fertility treatments will be unnecessary! You are already pregnant with my offspring!"

"Wait, WHAT?!" Starrk was completely shocked by that information. "…How…?" That was insane! They had only been together for a bit over a year. Surely…? But Max was beaming at him, pure happiness on his face.

"I know! It seems absurd but I can see shells forming!" Wait. Shells? Starrk's eyes widened but Max continued happily. "They're still in the membranous stage but eventually they will firm, when you're closer to giving birth."

"…They're taking after you, then." Starrk said weakly. He was going to lay eggs? Wait. "How many eggs?" Multiple births would be normal for both their base forms, but vasto lorde and arrancar were both more human. Starrk doubted it would be more than two. Max cheerfully confirmed it.

"Two! Oh thank you so much!" Starrk blinked as he was hugged and then smiled, hugging his Alpha back. Angelo burbled unhappily and Starrk couldn't help but laugh.

"You're going to be an older brother!" He told the baby, who just looked confused. "Ah, how will that work?" Multiple litters was very unusual. Max adjusted his glasses, looking at the baby thoughtfully.

"We'll have to watch him for any signs of violence towards the younger siblings. However, from what I've observed directly in the human world, this is a normal situation for homo sapiens." He said and Starrk had to nod. "As arrancar, our instincts are much weaker and he's only half hollow."

"Yes. Well, if he becomes troublesome we can find a foster family for him." Starrk didn't like that idea and from the flash of distress on Max's face, he wasn't fond of it either. Yet, he was even less happy about the idea of his second children being hurt. "Ah, I'm sure it won't come up. You're a good child." He said to the pup, gently ruffling his hair. Angelo grabbed at his hand, smiling happily. "What are you working on now?" It might be good to know and Max was more than willing to tell him.

"I was thinking about Orihime's rejection ability and now I'm working on duplicating the effect with machines!" That made Starrk blink. "I was able to examine her power several times in Los Noches – " He hadn't know that. "Unfortunately I lost all my data when the lab was destroyed and she's not willing to let me look at her now. I'm really not sure why – " Starrk smiled to himself. He was sure Max couldn't imagine why someone would be less than enthusiastic about SCIENCE! "However, I wrote quite a bit down in my notebook. So now I'm seeing if I can duplicate it! Imagine the applications in the healing field! Why, it would be incredible!"

"Mmm hmm." That sounded dangerous to him. "Well, be careful. Angelo would definitely miss you if anything happened, and Kurotsuchi doesn't need a roommate." He said semi-seriously. "Speaking of which, how is that going?" He hadn't heard much about Mayuri lately. Max adjusted his glasses.

"We actually are showing a tiny bit of success. He's responding to voices and is able to squeeze a handgrip when we ask him to. No vocalizations yet, but we are hopeful he will regain some faculties." That surprised Starrk and he lifted an eyebrow, deeply concerned for his Alpha's position. Max sensed it and continued cheerfully. "Please don't worry! We're reasonably sure his full recovery is centuries away, if it's possible at all. It's far more likely he will be permanently impaired by his experience."

"Ah." So he might be Max's lab assistant? What a strange thought. "And the reishi lollipops?" He probed. Starrk knew many people weren't happy about those, since they would potentially be ingested by quite a few children. Tests with child animals indicated no ill effects but they couldn't help but be worried. Max grimaced, shaking his head.

"I've quite given up. The reishi fragments just won't stay, without absurd containment measures. The lollipops begin to lose potency within a day and are inert by the second. That's just not enough shelf life for sweets." He said frankly and Starrk felt a touch relieved. "I've looked at other foodstuffs and come to the conclusion that coffee is actually the only possible vehicle. It runs through a machine, which can be built to impregnate it with the reishi, and then it's drunk immediately. The lollipops… I might make them for special occasions, but they're nothing that can be mass produced."

"I see." Starrk made a mental note to spread that around. It would lay some fears to rest. "Well, if we're done here can I take Angelo back to the gardens?" He was sure the pup would love to run around some more, under the sun. Max assented immediately.

"Of course! Would you like some strawberry slices? I can bring you some!" Max asked brightly and Starrk smiled, shaking his head.

"I'm fine. Have fun with your work." He was sure Max would. He was blessed to be one of the few people in the world who loved absolutely everything about their job. Taking Angelo, Starrk left to bring him back out into the sun. As he did, he dropped a hand to his belly. He could feel nothing, not even detect the growing reiatsu. But he was sure it was there. Max's sensors would not lie. How would it feel, having that life growing inside him? What would the birth be like? Starrk had to admit, if only to himself, that he felt a bit of fear at the thought.

But eggs or not, he was more than ready to find out.


End file.
